Villain Ties
by MuffledSnickers
Summary: ROMY: Rogue is kidnapped. Other parties join the fray with their own twisted agendas. Pretty soon, Rogue is mixed into a scheme that nobody could have predicted, full of manipulated ploys and betrayals in which Rouge is, involuntarily, the central player.
1. Kidnapped

_A/N: Set after the third movie, Rogue did not take the cure._

"What's wrong, _chere_?"

Rogue jumped back and turned around, not a few inches away was a smiling face of a handsome man. He looked at least a few years older than her, with a small bristle on his face from not shaving for a day or two. His jaw was cleanly chiseled, like that of a model and his smile only emphasized it. His eyes were hidden behind a dark pair of sunglasses that left Rogue with an odd desire to see behind those dark shades.

Rogue took a step back from the man, a little uncomfortable by his close proximity and glared at him in what she hoped to portray as menacingly. "Nothin's wrong, who're you?"

"Well, well, well, y' a guarded little _cherie,_ huh?" When she didn't drop her stance or glare, the man grinned. "Remy LeBeau, at y're service."

"At mah service?" Rogue squinted at 'Remy', what did this guy want with her?

"Remy's will always be at a _belle fille's_ service."

Rogue rolled her eyes. "Ah'm not interested." Rogue made to turn out of the alley, where she was supposed to be doing X-Men scout work, when the guy-Remy, placed his hand on her shoulder. Rogue stiffened, and he seemed to notice. "Hey _cherie_, Remy won't hurt y'. He jus' be wonderin' what a pretty _fille_ like y'self is doin' in dis part of town. It's not safe."

Rogue pulled herself out of his grip and turned around, a little angry. "Ah can handle mahself, thanks. Jus' leave meh alone." Rogue spun around again, she took two steps before she collided with a huge barrier of a man. She fell back hard, but her collision didn't seem to affect him at all.

She recognized him instantly and her heart sank. Before her stood a man at least seven feet tall, who was more of an animal than man. His skin was covered in a thick layer of fur and his claws and sharp teeth glistened threateningly. He grinned, which looked more like a snarl, and ground out. "Good job, noobie, you found her."

At the words, Rogue's head turned around to stare at 'Remy' in horror. He had just been trying to capture her? Stall her until Sabertooth came along? She had about two seconds to reflect on what just happened before Sabertooth grabbed her by the front of the shirt and lifted her cleanly off the ground.

Feet dangling several feet above the dirty alley floor, Rogue's eyes met Sabertooth's black gaze. With a growing sense of panic, Rogue lashed out with her foot and connected with a tender area. Sabertooth grunted and his solid grip loosened enough for Rogue to yank herself free. As soon as her feet hit the ground, she turned and started sprinting, roughly shoving Remy out of her path on the way.

She didn't see Remy's shocked gaze turn to a smile. She was too busy trying to escape; her heart was pounding in her ears as she ran. If only she could make it to the end of the alley and call out for Logan, she'd be free. As fate would have it, that wasn't what happened. She didn't really know what happened. One minute she was running, almost free, and the next something exploded under her feet and she fell harshly. Her knees were badly scraped as were her palms, but that was the least of her worries. Again, a strong grip grabbed the back of her shirt and pulled her off the ground.

She struggled, but this position was different and Sabertooth had the smarts to hold her away from his body. He looked at his companion, "Get the car, we're leaving."

Remy scampered away and before Rogue could even scream, a sleek black car pulled up in the front of the alley. Sabertooth went to the back of the car and pulled open the large trunk, ignoring her struggles he roughly threw Rogue in and slammed the trunk shut.

Rogue was surrounded by darkness; she couldn't even see her own hand in front of her face. It had been dark enough outside, but the blackness in the trunk was complete. She tried kicking the trunk open by leveraging her two legs against the dark, sealed crack, but all she managed to do was hurt her foot.

Finally, after the car started to move, Rogue gave up her struggles. They were useless, if the X-Men hadn't heard her by now, then there was no way they'd catch her now that the car was moving away. She sat back dully against the side of the trunk, wondering what would happen to her. What did someone want with her now? Magneto couldn't have come up with another machine; no Magneto was completely out of the picture now. Mystique was too, Rogue had heard that she was shot with a cure bullet that had been intended for Magneto earlier. So who wanted her?

Rogue shook her head, she hadn't even been aware that Sabertooth was still alive. And apparently he was working with 'Remy LeBeau'. But for what? Sabertooth didn't strike her as the kind of guy that would work under other people, or even with them. From what she had absorbed of Magneto, he wasn't even compliant to the Brotherhood's cause when it had still been alive.

Rogue sighed and leaned back against the side of the trunk. At least she wasn't dead. She had to be wanted for something, because otherwise Sabertooth just would have killed her. And, he had also said that 'you found her'. So her capture was no mistake. She was wanted for something.

Rogue shivered, it was cold in the trunk. The exposed part of her body, her ripped knees and elbows were raw from her fall and the unusual cold air against the wounds made them sting more. Not for the first time, Rogue wished she could have just stayed home and never had become a mutant.

She must have drifted off somewhere in-between her thoughts, because she was jerked awake when the car abruptly stopped and she was thrown forward. Outside, she dimly heard voices and the car doors being slammed. In another second of listening, she heard footsteps approach the back end of the car and she readied herself.

The trunk was abruptly popped open and Rogue leapt out. She hit another body painfully and both crumpled to the ground. Rogue was on top, so she tried to get up and run away, but even as she started to rise, an ankle twisted around her own. In another moment a firm hand grabbed her shoulder, and in a movement that was faster than she could follow, she was flipped head over heels to land painfully on her back with the other body sitting on top of her. Her legs were pinned by his and his hands held down her arms.

Rogue's struggles were useless, above her; the smiling face of Remy dimly came into view as her vision adjusted from the darkness she had been in. "Y' feisty, _chere_."

"Get offa meh!"

Remy's smirk grew. "Now why would Remy want t' do that when he's in such a favorable position already? What? Don't tell him y' don' like de bottom, _chere._"

Rogue stopped struggling and glared up at the smirking face above her. "Shut up ya perverted Cajun!" She recognized his accent; she had been to New Orleans when she began running away before she changed her mind and turned North.

Remy chuckled. "Is it a sin t' appreciate de good in dis world?"

Rogue's expression darkened even more. "What do ya' want with meh? Why can't ya people jus' leave meh alone!"

"You people? Careful _chere,_ y' might sound prejudice if y' walk around yellin' dat. A little hypocritical too."

Rogue was about to spit something back at him, but before she could speak a yell came from the side of her. "Stop flirting and get her in here before the boss gets back!" Rogue's head turned in the direction the shout had come and her eyes fell upon two shadowy figures. There was a woman not much older than herself, dressed in a red getup that displayed her figure plainly and left little to the imagination. She had on a strict look that clearly warned off anyone smart enough to see it. Besides her, the man who had called…well not man, it was a boy, younger than the woman. Rogue wouldn't have been surprised to discover the kid was younger than her. He had white hair that was sleeked back in an oily manner. His face was very young and boyish and he was glaring at Remy.

The woman besides him rolled her eyes. "Just call her Mystique for heaven's sakes; she's not your 'boss'."

Rogue's eyes widened at this. "Mystique's behind this!" Her gaze fell dangerously onto Remy's face, but she couldn't lock eyes with him because of those damn sunglasses. "What does that bitch want with meh this tahme?!"

Remy opened his mouth to say something, but he was cut off. "Don't tell her anything, Mystique doesn't want her to know yet."

Remy's face turned back to that annoying smirky grin. "Remy's goin' t' get off of y' now. Runnin' won't do y' any good, don't even try-Otherwise Remy'll get t' tackle y' again."

Rogue's expression darkened again and she glared at Remy. Carefully, the older mutant lifted himself off Rogue and pulled her up. He stood behind her and guided her over to the others. When he reached them, the white haired boy looked her up and down. "I don't see the resemblance…she looks kinda weak, doesn't she?"

The woman gave him a withering glare. "She hasn't been trained yet, hanging out with the kids at that school is a joke. They don't teach anything there."

Behind her, Remy chuckled again. "Maybe it's jus' 'cause y' two don't have de same view as Remy back here…She's a beauty."

Rogue ground her teeth and turned her head to glare at him. She really wanted to wipe that stupid smirk right off his face, but his grip on her shoulders was too strong and she knew she'd just get caught again anyway. She couldn't outrun the three of them. And where had Sabertooth gone?

They took a wide turning path through the woods that led to an enormously large mansion, the size almost compared to the Professor's mansion. It was huge. Rogue glanced around the cleared out yard before she was led inside.

It even looked like the Professor's mansion inside and for a second, Rogue thought it might have been designed by the same people. Remy glanced at the others. "Where to put de _fille?_"

Rogue was really getting tired of his 'cute' little nicknames. "Ah have a name, ya know."

"Remy heard y' have two, which do y' prefer, Rogue or Marie?" Rogue froze, how did this punk know her real name? Other than her family that she left and Logan, nobody knew her real name. Remy's mouth quirked into _that_ smile again. "Rogue den? Y' seem upset, _cherie,_ what's wrong?"

"Who-How do you know meh?"

"Remy knows alota _belle filles_, y' shouldn't feel dat special _chere_."

The woman who stood in front of them rolled her eyes. "Okay, enough chit-chat. Someone's gotta stay with her to make she sure doesn't climb out the window or anything."

"Remy volunteers."

Another eyeroll, "Great, take her up to one of the bedroom and wait for Mystique to get here."

Remy lost no time in doing so. Rogue was forced up the steps and into a second story bedroom that looked way too bare. The walls were entirely gray, the bed sheets and covers were gray, it was even gray outside the window. Rogue resentfully sat on the bed while Remy shut the door behind them.

"Finally, time alone, 'ey." Remy seated himself directly next to Rogue on the bed. Rogue stood up and walked to the other end of the room.

"Oh please, don't ya have somethin', anythin' better ta do than annoy meh?"

"Nope, dis sexy Cajun's all yours."

Rogue's forehead creased in anger and she turned from the cocky Cajun to stare out the window at the gray sky and the drop below. When he didn't say anything else, Rogue turned and stared at the bed. It was empty. Her eyes quickly scanned the room. Nobody else was there.

In confusion, she turned around completely and looked all around again, checking. "Cajun?"

No response came. Without further hesitation, Rogue raced to the door. Her hand had just touched the cold knob when, out of nowhere, two hands gripped her shoulders. Rogue jumped and cursed. "STOP TOUCHIN' MEH CAJUN!"

She spun around to see Remy drop his hands and raise his right eyebrow at her. "Tryin' t' escape on Remy, are y'? He can tell y' for a fact that y' be one of de only _filles_ who tries t' run from him. Go on now, back t' de bed."

Rogue didn't move. "Where did you go?"

Remy shrugged. "Jus' t' get some stuff. Saw y' were bleedin'." He pointed to her knees and elbows. "Go on, get on dat bed. Remy'll take care of y'." Being caught, Rogue had nothing else to do, but that didn't mean she had to be happy about it. She traced her steps back to the bed where Remy sat down next to her again and tugged at her jeans. Rogue backpaddled on the bed. "What're tryin' ta do?! Stop!"

Remy's grin was back in place. "How else is Remy goin' t' clean de cut? Take off your pants."

"Real cute, smartass."

"Can y' blame him for tryin'?" Without looking back at him, Rogue pulled up her jeans pant leg on one side, being careful to slowly pull away the ripped material from the bloody mess on her knee. She winced. Remy scooted closer to her on the bed.

"Dis might sting." With more care than Rogue thought Remy could exert, he lightly wiped at the cut with a cut cleaner. It stung, but Rogue was glad he was being careful about it. When he was finished, he bandaged it and began working on her other knee. Kneeling before her, Remy commented.

"An' most of de time, its de _fille_ dat's in dis position."

Rogue stood up, causing him to jab her harshly with the cleaner, but she didn't care. "You're unbelievable!"

"Hey come on _cherie, _Remy was jus' kidding." At her doubtful glare, he added. "Come back, it'll get infected."

Stiffly, Rogue sat back down. Remy grinned again and Rogue really wanted to wipe that smirk off his face. Calming the conversation now, or trying to, he asked. "So what's y' mutation _chere?_ Remy's surprised y' haven't burned him yet or somethin'." Suddenly Rogue's eyes turned downward and she looked at his hands. They were covered in black gloves that cut off before his fingertips, it was a miracle he hadn't touched her yet.

"You don't know?"

Remy shook his head. An idea was forming in Rogue's head. "It's nothin' special." Saying no more about it, she began to think. With his memories, she would know exactly where she was, what this kidnapping was about, and how to escape. Even though she didn't completely know how to control the other person's mind-and wasn't even sure she could dig out that information, she would try. She had made up her mind. His only exposed skin was his face, and she desperately wanted to get out of here.

Remy finished cleaning her knee and then stood up-to be jumped on by Rogue. Her lips touched his and he found himself in a passionate kiss. Eternity seemed to stop in that second and he kissed her back. But after that short millisecond, Rogue's mutation took hold and the pull began.

Remy didn't even jerk back as the pull started, and Rogue didn't let go. She held the back of his head with her other hand and kept their lips locked together. His thoughts, memories, energy, mutation, and even his very life force all raced into her through the connection and Rogue suddenly felt dizzy with energy and power. She let go of him and pushed him away from her. Remy's weakened form fell back harshly to thunk against the ground and he stared at her through his dimmed vision.

Thoughts, feelings, emotions, and desires that weren't her own surged through Rogue as she tried to make sense of everything she absorbed. She hadn't meant to hold onto him for so long. His mind was powerful, almost dominating over her own. Rogue's hands flew up to her temples and she fell to her knees. His thoughts, his feelings were so strong…she needed to get a grip! Stumbling to her feet once more, Rogue made for the doorway.

Her hands started to feel warm and Rogue looked at them. Her black gloves were emitting a strange, orange-redish glow and were filled with a familiar, but distant feeling. Rogue ripped off her gloves and threw them at the floor. A few seconds after they left her hands, the gloves exploded. Rogue stared for almost a minute before she came back to her senses. She had to get out of there! Remy was still staring at her as she turned and left the room.

That girl, that beautiful girl Rogue had just done something strange to him. He was too weak to move and she had used his power. How had that happened? Remy didn't know, but this Rogue was quickly becoming a mystery he was anxious to discover. He knew she wouldn't get far, so he wasn't worried about that. He sighed and just lied on the ground in the position he had fell. One thing was for sure, that girl was an amazing kisser.

Rogue rushed out the door and glanced down the long hallways, deciding which way to go. It wasn't as easy as she imagined it would be, especially not because she had absorbed so much of Remy. Why had she held the connection so long? She could have pulled away after it started…but she hadn't. Rogue had a suspicious voice in the back of her head that was screaming an answer to her, but she didn't pay attention. She had to get out of here.

_Go right, cherie._

Rogue turned right, but froze. Remy's psyche wouldn't give her the right directions, would he? No, he'd try to lead her astray.

_Chere, Remy jus' wants t' see how far y' get. Y' won't get away, he jus' wants to see how good y' are._

_And why should Ah trust ya?_

_Because y' a damn good kisser cherie. Jus' listen._

Rogue ran down the right corridor and was surprised when she found the stairs that they had come up. Quickly, she raced down them and was at the door when something painful smashed into the backs of her knees. Rogue collapsed at the door and inwardly cursed; above her another foot came smashing into her stomach. All Rogue saw was a blurred outline before it crushed her abdomen.

Rogue groaned loudly and felt a salty, metallic taste in her mouth. The edge of her vision blurred with unshed tears. That had really hurt! She wasn't even finished groaning before she was flipped on her back roughly and kicked against the door she was trying to escape from. Rogue's back hit the wood with a dull thunk and she huddled into a ball to prevent herself from being further hurt. Her arms covered her head protectively and her knees pulled up to cover her stomach.

_Come on, chere, what y' doing down there? Speedy's easy enough t' beat. Charge somethin' an' throw it at the ground in front of 'im. Y' can predict his movements, he's a dirty fighter._

_Ah don't know how!_

_Jus' do it!_

Rogue groped for something to charge and her hands fell to rest on a rather large splinter of wood that had broken off behind her. Following Remy's advice, she watched as the blur of 'Speedy' scrambled around. She charged the wood (how did she do that?!) and threw it five paces in front of him.

The wood exploded at the second he was right in front of it. Colorful curses followed and 'speedy' came to a halt, hopping up and down and holding his leg. Splinters had shot out from the exploded wood and imbedded themselves in the white haired kid's leg. Rogue smiled until he turned to her with an angry expression. "Bitch!"

The next thing Rogue knew, a very hard and very fast boot smashed into her head. Her head thunked back against the wall behind her and Rogue could already feel the swelling start. Her vision dimmed to a dull gray, even though Rogue desperately tried to cling to consciousness, she couldn't. Blackness engulfed her vision and Rogue saw no more.


	2. Unbelievable

_A/N: This would have been up yesterday, but I had some technical difficulties. Sorry about that. Anyway, thanks to everyone who reviewed, you're the reason I managed to update so quickly. Your support is greatly appreciated. _

_lovestoread: You read and review a lot of my stories, for which I'm grateful. I hope I can hold onto you as a fan with this story too. Thanks for reading and taking the time to review, I'm excited about it as you. You'll just have to see where this goes._

_4Rogue: Hey, nice to see a new reviewer every now and again. I'm glad you like it so far. And actually, this is the version in which Rogue did not take the cure. I hated the third movie for doing that to her, so it's just better off this way. Thanks for the review._

_beyondreason: Hey thanks, I'm glad you like it so much. All support is great, thanks a lot. Of course I'll continue, enjoy the next chapter._

_snccrockz: I'm glad you're a Romy fan. I am too, obviously. Rogue's not hurt too badly...well ok, you'll just see. It is good for Rogue, she has a head Remy now too. What more could a girl ask for? heh, well I hope you enjoy the next chapter and stay for the rest of the story.  
_

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Everything hurt. That was the first thing Rogue became aware of as she woke up from unconsciousness. Her body ached horribly, with her eyes still tightly shut, Rogue felt her surroundings. She was on a bed, under something fluffy. Covers? Someone had carried her back upstairs to her room. It was then that Rogue became aware of someone else in the room.

She could hear their breathing. For the next half a minute, she listened to their pace of breath to try to determine who it was. She wondered when she had become so perceptive when the voice of the other person called out, confirming the person to be Remy.

"Y' awake now _chere?_"

In response, Rogue groaned. She opened her eyes-well, one eye anyway, the other had swollen shut, and her vision was met with a gray ceiling. She tried to turn, but the movement shot even more pain through her beaten body, so she quickly stopped.

"_Oui,_ y' might not want t' try moving yet, _cherie. _Y' took a pretty bad beatin'." Remy moved so that he was in her limited line of vision, Rogue found that the loss of 3-D sight did nothing to hamper Remy's figure. She blinked. Where had that thought come from?

"What happened?" Her jaw felt oddly swollen too, though she didn't remember getting kicked in the jaw. It made her words thicker in her mouth and her accent more pronounced. "How did Ah get here?"

Remy chuckled. "'Carried y' up, no easy feat after dat kiss. Y' de first _fille _t' swoop Remy off his feat wit' a kiss. Y' should be proud."

Rogue averted her gaze from Remy, her cheeks were warm and she was sure she was blushing. What the hell was wrong with her? "How long was Ah out?"

Remy shrugged. "Jus' a few hours. De blue lady's not even home yet, an' y' still have Remy's eyes. Dey're cute on y'."

Rogue swallowed. "What?"

"Y' eyes, dey're copies of Remy's eyes."

"An' what do your eyes look lihke?"

Remy glanced at her for a moment, as if deciding whether or not to tell her a secret. After, he sighed. "Like dis," He took off his sunglasses and Rogue gasped in awe. Behind those dark sunglasses were the prettiest, most captivating eyes she had ever seen. Remy had gorgeous red on black eyes that took Rogue's breath away. They were just beautiful. Remy must have mistaken her gasp, because he quickly put his sunglasses back on. "_Oui_ …like dat."

Rogue opened her mouth. "They're beautiful." Remy's head shot up.

"What?"

"They're really beautiful, why do ya hide them?"

"Mos' people don't have de same opinion, _chere_."

Rogue suddenly grew conscious of the conversation she was having with her kidnapper. She turned her gaze away from him and looked instead at her gray sheets. Remy's thoughts started to drift through her mind again and Rogue winced, she had yet to sort out his addition to her mind. Remy frowned.

"Now y' gettin' shy on Remy? What's de matter, _cherie_?"

"Ah'm tryin' ta sort out your memories an' stuff."

"Wha?"

"Your memories." She looked up to see his confused face staring back at her. Rogue sighed. "When Ah…touched ya, Ah absorbed part of ya mind-your memories, feelings, life…Ah still haven't sorted it out. That, or your psyche."

"Psyche?"

"That's what Ah call 'em. They're like, remnants of you still in meh. Only, your psyche can talk ta meh and stuff. Like another voice in mah head…" At his still confused look, she went on. "Like another conscience in meh, only yours…an' it talks an' stuff…"

"Remy not sure y' having his conscience of him inside y' is a good thin' _chere_, Remy's conscience is not very…law abidin'."

Rogue rolled her eyes. "No kiddin'. Ah kinda drew that one from your memories."

Remy's head swiveled towards her. "Y' can see Remy's memories?" He almost sounded worried; Rogue glanced at him with her good eye.

"Yuh huh…" At his panicked look, she added, "but Ah'm not very good at lookin' through someone else's memories. Usually random things jus' come up from first contact. Ah've only twice tried t' look through memories, an' it didn't really work out as Ah imagined."

Remy relaxed slightly. "So y' power is absorption through y' lips? Remy won't lie t' y' _chere_, dat's a new one."

Rogue snorted. "It happens whenever Ah touch someone, not jus' with mah mouth."

Remy looked quizzical for a moment before his face split into a grin. "Remy knew y' wanted t' kiss 'im."

"Don't flatter yourself."

Remy's smile grew. "Den why didn't y' jus' touch him? Peck on de cheek o' whatnot?"

Rogue didn't have an answer. Well, she did, but not one she was going to tell him. Repressed emotions came forth at the worst times. She could feel her cheeks burning again and quickly changed the subject. "Why do ya refer to yourself in third person?"

Remy saw right through it. "Tryin' t' change de subject on ol' Remy, are y'?"

"No!" Rogue squeaked a little too soon, Remy caught it. "Ah…Ah didn't think ta do anythin' else. Ah was jus' tryin' to escape."

"Y' know, de subconscious is a powerful influence on de reluctant."

"What are ya, a philosophizer?"

"Nope, jus' know when de girl is lyin' t' herself." Rogue felt her cheeks burn again. Remy was very perceptive about watching her blush. "See? Dat confirms it. Y' liked de kiss."

"Doesn't mean Ah like you!" Rogue tried desperately to latch onto any kind of escape she could.

"_Oui,_ it does. Y' wouldn't jus' go around kissin' people y' don't like...unless y' a slut."

Rogue rolled her eyes and cursed her tired body for not being able to get up and hit the cocky Cajun. "This is ridiculous, you're mah kidnapper. Ah don't like ya, no matta how conceited that thick Cajun head of yours is. Get that straight."

"Denial is the first stage of accepting."

"That's bull, that stuff always works against the person. Ah can't deny it 'cause that's 'the first stage' but then Ah say Ah like ya-which Ah don't-that confirms it. There's no way for meh to win."

"Unless Remy understands de stages of acceptin' an knew dat if y' said y' liked him now, he'd know y' were lying."

"Fine, Ah like you. That prove-"

"AHA! Remy knew it. No _fille _can resist 'im."

"Ya cheated! That's not fair! An' Ah do NOT like ya, Cajun!"

Remy grinned. "De name's Gambit, maybe y' should o' thought o' dat before Remy proved himself right."

Rogue grunted. "You're impossible."

"Nahh, jus' extremely sexy."

"Is there anythin' about yourself that ya are not entirely cocky about?"

"Well…not since y' told Remy his eyes were beautiful, nope, nada. Congratulations, y' made Remy perfect!"

"Ah think Ah should be smacked for sayin' anything that boosted your ego even more."

"Remy could arrange dat."

"Cajun! If ya don't stop with sexual remarks Ah'm goin' ta make your sexual encounters only a good memory!"

Remy gave her a lopsided grin. "Would y' harm him so? Dat'd be a tragedy t' all women, _cherie."_

"Maybe nobody ever told ya. You're not God's gift ta women."

"It'd be a shame if y' suggestin' dat Remy be a gift t' men."

Rogue sighed and closed her good eye. "Ah'm really done havin' this conversation with ya. Ah have things ta do."

"What could be more important dan talkin' t' Remy?"

"Gettin' him outa mah head would be a good start."

"See now, Remy's even in y' thoughts _cherie_. He travels with y' anywhere now."

"That's somethin' Ah'll have ta live with fohr the rest of mah life…great."

There was a moment of silence that followed before Remy spoke up. "So how do y' do it?"

Rogue's eye opened. "Excuse meh?"

Remy grinned. "See, Remy not de only one with a perverted mind, _cherie_."

"A trait Ah picked up from you, no doubt."

Remy disregarded her last comment. "Anyway, how y' do it? Absorb someone. Y' have t' think of suckin' out dere life force o' what?"

Rogue lowered her gaze to stare at her hands. He had hit a soft spot. "Ah can't control it."

Remy stared, uncomprehending. "It jus' comes an' goes?"

Rogue shook her head, still looking at her hands. "It happens every time Ah touch…" She let that sink in.

"_Merde, _y' can't ever touch?" Rogue didn't move, her good eye remained fixed on her hands. Her expression was dark, hateful. "'M sorry, _cherie."_

Rogue noticed he had switched from third person to first for the first time since she had begun talking to him. He really was apologetic. Rogue bit her lower lip. "It's okay…ya didn't know." An awkward silence followed, Rogue felt it as thick as a curtain. She had to break it. "So why did ya'll kidnap meh in the first place? Y' don't plan ta kill meh again, do ya? 'Cause ya know, if that's the case then Ah'm outa here."

Remy took up the topic like oil to a fire, glad for the subject change. "Kill ya _chere?_ Now dat'd be a waste o' a perfectly good person. Nahh, y' jus' have some issues t' settle out wit' de blue lady."

A thought suddenly occurred to Rogue. "What do ya mean? Mystique lost her powers, an' Ah can't imagine what she'd want with meh. Not to mention she did trah to kill meh the first tahme she kidnapped meh. Maybe she jus' didn't tell ya."

Remy shook his head. "No, she's not goin' t' kill y'. I know dat. But I'm surprised to discover she tried to kill y' before…"

"Liberty Island incident…"

"The thing dat was all over de news?! Y' dat girl?!"

"Yeah, that girl."

"Y' famous _chere!_"

"Ah never got that one before…it's usually 'suicidal bitch'."

"Who calls y' dat?"

"Humans…some mutants too."

"Dey're jus' jealous of y'."

Rogue made a sort of pffft noise with her teeth. "Ya, that's what they are."

"I'll punch 'em for y'!"

Rogue paused. "Ya switched to first person…"

"What a two sided girl! Which do y' prefer, _cherie?_ Make up y' mind."

Rogue smiled. "Jus' pointin' it out, s'all."

Remy's next words were interrupted by the sound of footsteps thudding up the stairs. He glanced at the door and turned back to Rogue. "Blue's home," No sooner were the words out of his mouth when the door to Rogue's room burst open and Mystique stood staring from the doorway, straight at Rogue. She was in her self-created form that she seemed to favor, all blue with those mystic yellow eyes. Mystique could clearly see that Rogue was hurt and she was very mad about it.

"I told you not to hurt her you careless fluke of a thief!" She advanced towards Remy who took two careful steps back. He held out his hands in a surrender motion.

"Dat bruisin' is not Remy's doing," Rogue abstractly noticed he went back to third person, "Dat was your little speedy boy downstairs. Rogue got a little curious an' went t' look about de front door when he came across her."

Mystique seemed to stare him down for a minute, as if testing if he was telling the truth or not. She turned her gaze to Rogue for a minute and then glared back at Remy.

"Why did she imprint you?!" The question was more of a demand, but the tone didn't seem to affect Remy. He grinned again and put down his hands.

"De _filles_ jus' can't resist such a sexy thief."

Rogue grit her teeth and Mystique looked as if she were about to pummel Remy. She took one advancing step before his hands flew up again in defense.

"You dirty, good for nothing, low grade thief! What the hell did you pressure her into doin-"

"Whoa Blue! Remy was jus' kiddin'! It was a part o' her escape attempt!...An' he's a good thief."

Mystique still looked like she wanted to strangle Remy. Her golden eyes were crossed in rage and her fists were clenched tightly at her sides. Her voice came out as a growl. "Where's Pietro?"

Remy shrugged, as if he didn't notice, or was immune to her anger. "De Speedy boy be down de hall in his room, nursin' his leg."

Without another word, she turned on her heel and left the room. From down the hall, Rogue could hear the scream "PIETRO" as if she had been standing next to the woman. She raised an eyebrow while Remy grinned madly.

"Dat boy's in for it!"

Rogue looked at him. "An' she was so concerned about mah well being…why?"

Remy's face suddenly turned serious. It was as if someone had flipped a light switch, the change was so fast. With a regretful glance at the door, he answered cryptically. "Y' will see, _cherie_. Y' in for a rough night."

"What does that mean?"  
Remy shook his head. "It's not my place t' tell y'. Y'll find out soon enough."

Remy pitied Rogue for the information she was about to obtain, he wouldn't want to trade places with her at the moment.

Rogue bit her bottom lip in nervous energy and attempted to move again. It hurt-in fact it just made her more aware of all her injuries. Up to this point, she had been so absorbed in talking with Remy and trying to close off his thoughts, that after she had woken up, she hadn't paid much attention to her injuries. Now that she was aware of them, she began checking the ones she could. Her stomach was bruised over, it was a big bruise, but she didn't feel that one as much. The backs of her knees still hurt, but they weren't marked. She couldn't see her back, but that's where most of the pain was coming from. Rogue suddenly turned to look at Remy.

"Do ya have a mirror?"

"Gettin' self conscious around me now?"

"Jus' get meh a mirror."

He left the room and was back faster than Rogue could have thought possible. She looked up questioningly at him. "How'd ya do that so fast?"

Remy smiled. "Thief's speed." He told her. Rogue nodded nimbly and took the mirror from his outstretched hand. Rogue stared back at her reflection from the small glass. To tell the truth, it looked a lot worse than it felt, but Rogue could have sworn the pain increased after she saw her injury in the mirror. Her left eye was completely swollen shut, the bruising was terrible. It not only covered her eye, but also spread around the surrounding area. It was bigger than a softball. Following that, the bruise lightened around the bottom edge of her jaw until it reached the edge of her jawline. There was another bruise covering the bottom portion of her jaw, it was very similar to the first, except this one had a small cut on top of it. And finally, above her left eye there was a deep cut that started just above the bruise.

Rogue took in a shaky breath and shivered involuntarily. She held out the mirror and Remy took it from her. "Ya didn't tell meh Ah had such a big bruise along the left side of mah face or that Ah looked lihke shit."

Remy shrugged. "Y' don't look like shit, _cherie, _y' beautiful. Besides, I Figured y' could feel it. An' if not, then at least y' in pleasant ignorance."

"Thanks for ruinin' it." Rogue added sarcastically. Remy held up his hands in the surrender motion again.

"Y' de one dat asked for de mirror! Don't go tryin' t' blame dis on me."

"Wha-" Rogue started, but Remy turned around and looked out the window. His gentle voice interrupted her.

"Shhh now _cherie,_ Blue's comin' back."

Rogue opened her mouth to speak, but was again interrupted, this time by the opening door. Mystique slid in through the crack and barely gave Remy a glance before her eerie eyes fell on Rogue. Rogue stiffened, feeling as if she was being judged or something else cryptic.

Mystique stared at her for a long time, so long that Rogue began wondering if the other woman hadn't drifted off into a daydream. All the questions Rogue wanted to ask drained from her mind in that silence. After a long, silent pause, Mystique spoke. "You're older than I thought you'd be. I lost track of time…it was so long ago."

Rogue squinted uncomprehendingly. What was Mystique trying to get at? "What does that mean? What is it ya want meh for this tahme?"

The eerie glow in Mystique's eyes seemed to dim and her thin lips curved into a small, but detectable frown. "There's so much you don't know, child. I'm sorry it ever happened like this…" She trailed off; Rogue was getting increasingly more frustrated. What was this all about? Why had Mystique ordered minions to capture her? What was she being so cryptic about?

"Look Mystique, get ta the point. Ah don't know why ya had Sabertooth kidnap meh an' Ah really don't care at this point. Ah just want ta go back ta the mansion, so tell meh what ya want an' let meh get outta here already."

Mystique shook her head, almost sadly. "I can't let you do that, Rogue. You can't go back to the X-Men."

"An' why tha hell not? Ya gunna trah ta kill meh again?" Rogue was angry, her accent showed even further in her already thick southern twang. She shot a glare to the back of Remy's head. He didn't turn around, but she was sure he had known. "Why do ya gotta keep messin' with meh?! Jus' leave meh alone!"

"I'm afraid I can't do that. You're my daughter, Marie."

Rogue froze. "What?" She couldn't think of anything else to say. Was Mystique crazy? She was not Mystique's daughter, where'd that blue bitch get that idea from? Is that why she was kidnapped? Because Mystique had gone delusional and thought that she was her daughter? What was going on?

"You're my daughter." Mystique repeated, as if Rogue hadn't heard her the first time. Rogue stared at her incredulously, Mystique had expected that. She knew Rogue would not believe her. She was ready for it. "Touch me."

Rogue drew back. "What?" Seriously, was Mystique messed up on some drugs or what? Mystique took a step forward and Rogue backpedaled away on the large bed. Her back ached and cried in protest to the movement, but Rogue paid it no head. Mystique continued forward and Rogue backed up until her back lay ridged against the backboard of the bed. "What-What are ya doin'?"

Mystique approached the bed and sat down on the edge of it. Rogue curled away as much as she could, but she was already on the edge of the bed. Mystique gingerly held out her hand. Her bare hand. Rogue flinched away as if someone had hit her.

"Touch me." Mystique repeated again. "To see that I'm not lying. I didn't expect you to believe me, but it's true. And you must know, so touch me and see."

Rogue had no intention whatsoever to touch the older mutant's bare hand. She did not need another psyche in her mind and most certainly not a crazy person's like Mystique. The blue mutant was obviously confused about something. "It-It doesn't work that way." Rogue stumbled over the words, holding the blanket up near her chin like a shield. "Ah-Ah can't search through a person's memories lihke that. An' Ah don't want yours."

"You may not want my memories, but you will get the memories of you as a child, and, more importantly, the recent information I've come across. That you, Marie D'Ancantado, are my blood related daughter."

"Stop sayin' that!" Rogue hissed, almost fearful of the woman in front of her. "Ah'm not your daughter, an' stop callin' meh Marie. Ya don't know meh."

Mystique's eyes traveled down and then flicked across to Remy who still stood in the corner of the room. "Remy," Remy's back was stiff and he turned slowly, he knew what he had to do. Mystique turned back to Rogue, she hated using her daughter's worst fear-her most hated attribute against her, but it had to be done.

Rogue started to panic. Remy was approaching at a slow pace with a dreaded look in his features, he didn't want to have anything to do with what was about to take place. "'M sorry, Rogue." He was right at the foot of her bed; Rogue's breathing grew labored. What were they doing? Remy moved forward again and suddenly, quicker than Rogue could follow, she was pinned beneath the stronger man. Rogue's breath hitched in her throat and her terrified gaze turned to Mystique, who came up behind Remy.

She struggled, but it was futile. She was not stronger than Remy. "Stop! What're you doin'! STOP!" Rogue's voice was frantic as Mystique drew closer. Then, with a slight hesitation, Mystique lowered her exposed hand to touch Rogue's bare face.

It was an attack on her mind that she had not been ready for, her defenses were down and that only increased the damage of the simple touch.

Rogue screamed as an onslaught of memories invaded her mind, unnatural energy poured into her being, but not enough for her to push Remy off. Images flew through Rogue's mind. A baby, running, Magneto, she lost the baby, she had to give it up to follow Erik's path, she was rewiring an explosive, fighting Wolverine, stabbed through the stomach with familiar claws, on the X-Jet, watching Erik say goodbye to Charles, being captured, on the truck, shot with a cure bullet that was not intended for her, regaining her powers, discovering the horrid truth…the memories that were not her own clashed with Rogue's to the point that she couldn't tell whose was whose.

Her body was shifting too, and all she could feel was the pain. Clashing from one person to another was the most painful experience Rogue had ever felt. Her being was repeatedly ripped apart to be jammed back together in an unfamiliar form. She didn't even know who she kept changing from and into, only that her body arched in agony as she tried to pull out of Remy's grip.

With the release of Mystique's memories, the other psyches in her mind took advantage of her mind's chaos and escaped the mind bonds the professor had taught her to put in place. Her mind swarmed with feelings, emotions, desires and experiences that weren't her own. Rogue couldn't tell who she was, let alone where or how she'd gotten there. And still, the pain was ever building against her form. A howl was ripped from her throat as her body shook in one last protest before everything went black.


	3. False Hopes

_A/N: Hey, sorry about the shortness of this chapter-I meant to make it longer, but I've just run out of time. I won't be able to update this weekend, as I will be at church camp, which is why I needed to get this up today. I hope you understand. Rogue's next part will show up first thing next chapter, promise. Anyway, thanks again to all my reviewers._

_Silverskies: Hey, I'm glad you like it so much. I'm excited about writing it too. There won't be another update for this weekend, but I do encourage checking frequently. I do like to think I'm a 'rapid fire updater' heh, I've gotten a lot of comments on the banter, so don't worry, there will definitely be more of that later on. I'm a big Romy fan too, Bobby's just a little boy, but Remy's definitely the one for Rogue. At least in my opinion. Glad you think X-3 was trash too, though we're not alone in that department. Many unsettled fans about that. Well, I do my best to make it better. You'll see what's goin' about with Logan later in this chapter. If you want protectiveness, then you found the right story. I update regularly enough, every few days I like to post something new. Though that only stays as long as I don't fall into my lazy patterns, so let's hope, for the both of us, that that doesn't happen. Though I am psyched about this story and doubt it will happen for a while. Thanks for reviewing-such a big review too! and I hope you enjoy the rest of the story._

_Lovestoread: Hey cool, I'm happy that you're enjoying it. Don't worry, there will be plenty more Rogue/Remy conversations and mixing. Good to hear from you again, thanks for reviewing. Enjoy the story!_

_annie: Aww thanks, compliments like that just boost my moral and will to write so much more. I do try to update as quickly as possible, so you don't have to worry about long waits with me. Thanks for the encouraging review._

_Ice_

_THREE MONTHS AGO_

The rain thudded against the misted window as she entered the sleek car and gently sat down upon the cushioned back seat. The door shut behind her and the car began pulling away. She breathed in deeply, aware that the other woman could not see her, but she was ashamed just the same. Closing her eyes, she listened as the other woman spoke. "I told you it would happen, Raven."

Raven Darkholme, the ex-mutant terrorist was now a measly human. Her world had fallen apart, and she had nowhere to go. Erik had rejected her, she would never return to him; she had never had anyone else besides her 'acquaintances' and half the time, those ended up dead. Raven nearly choked at Irene's words. "I know." She raised her head to stare at the other woman. Irene was blind and could not look back, but she knew Raven was staring at her.

"It's not your fault. Next time, I just hope you trust me more."

Raven's bottom lip trembled, both from the impact of the words and Irene's implications. "I do trust you, Irene. I only hoped…"

"Hope is an imaginary friend, don't hope. When you want something done, hoping won't do anything. Erik's dream was a false hope." A dagger was thrust into Raven's heart at the mention of his name.

"Don't…"

"As much as you want to believe it, Raven, I'm not just throwing out his name to hurt you. Erik was never right in his thinking after that poor daughter of his died. His ideals were ridiculous from the start and he became obsessed, there are plenty of others out there that are more powerful than him. Besides, I thought you would rather not see his other two children after the incident."

The incident, if only it could be described as simple as that. Betrayal was a better word for it, for that's what he'd done. Mystique had put her full trust, her life, everything into that man and his desires. And for what? Absolutely nothing.

Raven knew Irene was being harsh for a reason. She had warned Mystique many times before 'the incident' but Mystique never quite took her seriously enough. Now, she had found out the hard way. "At least they're not with him." Raven replied, showing no emotion of how Irene's words had impacted her. The woman was blind, true, but she could detect things better than anyone else Raven knew. "I'd rather have his children under my hand than staying with him."

"To torture him or to use them yourself?"

"I'm not sure yet, though both sound appealing. I can't do it all myself anymore."

Irene's cane tapped twice and her head moved so that it almost seemed like she was looking at Raven. "That's something we need to discuss."

Raven went stiff. "What's there to discuss about it?"

"They're coming back. The cure does not work, your powers, Erik's powers, all the mutants that were shot…they'll be back."

Raven felt mixed emotions; she was elated to hear that her power source was coming back. She'd not longer be the weak link that had to use others to get her needs done, though she'd still use others for certain things. When one has power over others, they must use it to their benefit. At least, that was her way of doing things. But another emotion came at the revelation that everyone's powers would be back. It was something she'd never admit to anybody else, but it was there. Fear. With Erik back to power he would re-assemble his army. That couldn't happen.

"So we have to kill Erik…" Raven was following Irene, but she felt a sense of dread at the words. No matter how much she hated him, how much she wanted to torture the man to death, a part of her still longed for her blissful ignorance of before. She would never shake that part of her free.

"Yes. And there's one more thing, Raven. I've found your daughter." Raven froze, what? How could she have? Raven had been searching for the better part of ten years and had found nothing. Now Irene found her?

"How?"

"You're not the only one with contacts, Raven. I found her in a southern Mississippi town, but since then she's moved North. The foster parents didn't react well to her mutation, so she ran away." Raven was hanging on to every word as if they were her only lifeline. How had Irene done it? After the birth Raven had been forced to give up the baby, and then she was later told that she was killed. Raven never believed the second part of it, and she had always continued looking, but she'd never found anything. Not even a hint.

"Where is she now?"

"She's with her brother. You remember him?"

"Of course, I can't forget my son, but recently Kurt joined the X-Men…" Irene just continued to stare straight through her with those sightless eyes. It took Raven a moment, but then reality hit her. "You can't mean…not…"

Irene nodded. "Rogue, the daughter you tried to kill at Liberty Island."

Truth dawned on Raven and her surroundings seemed to melt around her. Rogue was her daughter? Dazed, she flicked her gaze from Irene to the water splashed window. "Are you sure?"

"I wouldn't bring it up if I wasn't."

Suddenly, anger welled in Raven's chest. Irene had known for a while now, why hadn't she been told? "Why didn't you tell me this before?" Her voice was a low hiss, almost dangerous. Irene didn't seem at all perturbed.

"For the same reason I just told you, I wasn't sure until now. Would it have mattered if I told you sooner? You would not have trusted me unless I was absolutely certain. You need to learn to trust the right people, Raven."

"I might have been able to prevent her from joining with Xavier if you had told me sooner!"

"And what would that have changed? She'd be shot with a cure bullet or else dead if you'd known before this. There's no way Erik would have let you have your daughter back, you and I both know that. Don't delusion yourself with lies, Raven. Nothing would be better if you'd known. Now, I suggest you make the most of this when it matters, now that you are not disillusioned by Erik anymore."

"What are you proposing?"

"Pick her up, tell her the truth. Let her touch you to confirm the truth if need be. I've been seeing her a lot in my visions lately, she plays an important role."

"Won't she be able to see this conversation?"

Irene shook her head. "She does not hold that kind of control, at least not yet. This memory will be fuzz if it shows up at all. I'll make sure to that. She'll only know for certain that you are her mother."

Raven glanced at Irene through the corners of her eyes. Was Irene trying to play her again? Raven remembered the last time all too clearly, as if it'd been yesterday. Irene had claimed it was a mistake, but that had nearly gotten Raven and Kurt killed. She wasn't willing to fall into Irene's hands again. "An important role in what? Don't start your games with me again Irene."

Irene frowned. "That was a long time ago…you don't let go of the past, do you?"

"Not when it concerns my life or those of my children, no. I have not forgotten that mistake…" She let the word slip off accusingly, letting Irene know that she still did not fully trust or believe her.

"Rogue's role is not in my favor, Raven. She is a brilliant girl, could be a powerful mutant too, but she's not aware of the extent of her gift. She only sees it as a curse."

"Would you think differently if it was you?"

Irene shook her head. "No, I do not blame her. She is a mere child, a teenager. The implications of her own strength have not dawned on her. Where she sees her curse, pain is all she knows. If you could change that…she'd be a goddess of remarkable power…" Irene's voice drifted off in a wistful tone that Raven had never heard from her before. She kept that fact in the back of her mind.

"I won't take her until I've regained my powers. And even then, she won't be used like the others. She's my daughter, Irene."

Irene ignored the last of what Raven warned against. "That would be a smart idea that I do not object to. Now, what of these others you're collecting?"

"It's just a resistance force, so far Wanda and Pietro have been more than willing to escape their father's watchful eye and turn their back to him. I also have plans for a certain thief…he's widely known."

"Is that all?"

"No, the group will grow. I came across Sabertooth the other day and I was able to roughly assure his assistance by promising him revenge against Wolverine. I have others in mind too…they are children now, all except Sabertooth, and will be easily influenced. With training, they will become strong."

When Raven looked back at Irene, she wasn't surprised to find a small frown on the other woman's face. Though the reason turned out to be different than what she had expected. "This…revenge you promised to Sabertooth…you do know that Rogue is quite attached to him?"

"I know that he is her father, if that's what you mean."

"And you're willing to just dispose of him?"

"Of course not, Wolverine is no easy man to kill. I do not expect Sabertooth to be able to accomplish such a task."

"And if he is?"

"I'll deal with that if it comes to it."

--------

For the next three months while Raven waited for her power source to come back, she watched Rogue. She learned of her habits, her tendencies and relationships along with her dislikes and weaknesses. She learned everything that a military worker would look for, but nothing that a mother should know. She grew impatient at Rogue's mistakes and made metal notes on what to work on with the younger mutant. She was obsessed, for those two months it was all about Rogue. It was a relief when Kurt finally came home, for he was just another object of speculation to Mystique. She loved her son dearly, and she would also love her newfound daughter, but she had to know of their extremes, of their limits and breaking points.

So for those three months, Raven was like a shadowy thief almost in comparison to the great Remy LeBeau, whom she was still working to contact. Her brotherhood would be invincible; she would make sure to that. The Brotherhood had not died with Magneto, they were alive with her. Soon, she'd be the one the humans whispered about in fear. And Erik would be dead.

Contacts had been arranged and she spoke often with feared and respected enemies. She searched for Erik, but nothing had turned up. Other mutants were contacted and a place was set up. She trusted one group to build it and then killed them afterwards; their bodies still were at the bottom of the river. She was careful, very careful that nobody knew where the mansion was.

About two months into her watchful eye on Rogue and Kurt, Logan began sniffing around a lot more. He was suspicious, she knew. Even though her scent was not exactly the same as when she was a mutant, it was close enough to match to her. Logan found ways of being around Rogue when it wasn't entirely necessary and Raven's watch had been disrupted.

That's why she had Rogue kidnapped while she was out scouting for one of the X-Men's little goody-good outings. It had worked marvelously. Rogue was hers and the mother was happy.

--------

_PRESENT_

"I don' give a damn, Storm! She wouldn't jus' run out on a mission, I'm tellin' ya. I smell other scents here an' one of 'em's Sabertooths!" Logan was in a rage, he was way past angry. Something had happened to Rogue. He didn't care that Sabertooth was supposedly dead or that Storm thought Rogue just walked out on the mission, he could smell both her fear and Sabertooth's lingering scent. And another scent, but he couldn't place the person of the last one.

"Logan, think of what you're saying! Sabertooth is dead; _you_ killed him in the Liberty Island incident. And we can't be sure of what Rogue would do anymore."

Logan growled, low and menacingly. "If you're referring to-"

"You know exactly what I'm referring to, damnit Logan. Rogue can't be trusted, she already showed that when she chose to-"

Logan pinned Storm against the alley wall, with a mad gleam in his eye he shouted at her. "Jus' 'cause Rogue wanted to be normal doesn't mean she's a different person! She didn't even get the Goddamn cure and ya still rattle that shit against her! She's a teenaged girl Storm, not a superhero!"

Storm was choking, she gawked at Logan and slowly, his grip lightened on her throat. Storm took in huge gulps of air that her lungs had lacked a second ago. After a moment, she straightened herself and stared hard at Logan. "She nearly betrayed us, Logan. I don't see where you find such innocence in her, but I don't care. The fact is we don't know if Rogue ran-again-or not. Blaming this on the dead is going to do nobody any good."

Kitty fidgeted behind them. She was worried about her friend and hated the way Storm held her 'cure' escapade against her. Storm really was being unfair about it. Kitty voiced her thoughts on Sabertooth. "How can you be sure Sabertooth died? He could have survived…"

Logan glanced back at the girl behind him. He had forgotten that she was still there. "She's got a point, Storm. We never picked up his body and I smell his scent here. I _know_ he's been here."

There was a sudden _bamf_ and an explosive smell of brimstone that marked Kurt's arrival back. He shook his head. "She's not around zere anyvhere."

Logan grunted. Storm looked like she wanted to hit them all, but instead she gave in. "Fine, if you think she's really in trouble then you can stay and snoop around. I'm going home to watch the kids. Henry must have his hands full by now." She looked expectantly at Kitty and Kurt. "Are you two coming?"

Kitty shook her head. "I'm going to stay to look around with Mr. Logan."

Storm's eyes darkened as she turned to Kurt. "And you?"

"I'll stick around too, maybe vere vill be something I can do."

Logan glanced at his two comrades before his eyes fell back on to Storm's retreating back. What was wrong with that woman? He'd have to have a talk with her later. Honestly, didn't she think she was being just a little too hard on Rogue?

Logan turned around and started sniffing the alley again to pick up Rogue's scent. Kurt's brimstone smell lingered over everything and it took him a minute to pick it back up, but he did. Logan started walking down the other end of the alley. Kitty followed nervously behind him and Logan's sensitive ears picked up on Kurt saying a prayer.

"Mr. Logan?"

Logan glanced at Kitty from the corner of his eyes, he grunted. "Jus' Logan, Kitty. It's jus' Logan."

Kitty made a noise that halfway sounded like she was clearing her throat and halfway like she was about to throw up before speaking again. "Do you…do you really think Sabertooth's alive?"

"Yes, he's got a healing factor too, ya know?"

Kitty's eyes widened. "What?"

"Guess ya didn't."

Kurt's eyebrows crossed quizzically. "Vhat does vis Sabertooth vant vith Rogue?"

Logan's eyes darkened. "Revenge, most likely. He's using Rogue to get to me. That's what I'd guess, at least. But there's someone else's scent here with 'im. I can't place it."

"A new player joined the mix?"

"Seems like it. I can't think of who Sabertooth would work with though…unless he went back to Mags, but I doubt that."

Kitty began chewing on her bottom lip. "Nobody's seen Magneto, have they? Why's he hiding?"

Logan continued walking forward, following Rogue's scent as he responded. "Nope, I suspect he's gatherin' another army. You hear of the prison break the other day?"

"Vhat prison break?"

Logan stopped and squinted, as if puzzled. "All those mutants that were with 'im on that Alcatraz incident. Their mutations all came back unexpectedly and there was a huge prison break. Every one of those suckers got out. I spose' some of 'em will be lookin' for revenge against Magneto. He did jus' run out on 'em, an' was the cause of mos' of 'em loosing their powers too." He turned. "Her scent ends here; they must have taken a car from here."

Kitty stared at him. "So what do we do now?"

Logan opened his mouth to reply, but before anything came out, a shadowy figure dropped from somewhere above. He landed smoothly on both feet in a half crouch, eyes staring out from the shadows of the alley. Even in the near pitch dark, Kitty recognized him.

"John?!" John looked haggard, that much was easy to say. His smooth hair that was always slicked back was overgrown and shaggy. He had a least a week's worth of stubble on his face and he was dirty. His clothes were ripped and torn; it looked as if he'd just gotten off the bad end of a fight. His once brilliantly alive eyes were shallow and hallowed from what they had been. Overall, he had a haunted look about him.

Kitty made to move, but John flicked out an ever present lighter-not the one he usually had that held the shark's tooth, this one was just a normal lighter that could be bought at a drugstore for fifty cents or so. "Don't come any closer."

Kitty stopped, she eyed the dancing flame for a minute before a strong, sturdy voice growled from behind her. Kitty heard the audible _snick_ of Logan's claws as they protruded from his knuckles. "What do ya want, kid? We ain't got time for your pranks."

John's eyes traveled from Kurt to Kitty and then landed to stay on Logan. Even his voice had changed somewhat, it was more harsh, weathered. "I'm not here for tricks. You're looking for Rogue, are you not?"

Logan's guttural growl was his only response. John narrowed his eyes. "I've got a proposal for you."

"I ain't makin' no deal with ya kid. Get to the point or get outa here."

"Then I have nothing to say."

John started to slip away through the shadows when a familiar _bamf_ stopped his progress. Kurt quickly separated his lighter from him with an expert kick. John aimed a punch at the dark blue night creature, but he was already gone by the time the fist reached its destination. Kurt reappeared behind John and kicked him solidly in the back with two feet. His kick knocked him sprawling to the ground.

Kurt teleported again before he fell to the ground and he landed smoothly on John's back. John grunted, but to his credit, he didn't cry out. His lighter was just a few feet away, he stretched his arm out to grab it-extending his fingers he almost touched it before _CRUNCH_. John whimpered as Logan stood, sneering over him. "Don't be cute, kid. You'll just get yourself in trouble."

"I won't tell you anything until you listen to what I'm offering."

"I don't care what you're offering. Whatever it is, it doesn't concern me."

"What if I told you it concerned Rogue?"

With surprisingly quick movements for such a muscled man, Logan grabbed the front of John's ratty T-shirt and lifted him off the ground. Kurt had mind to teleport off of him before Logan slammed John against the alley wall. "What do you know of Rogue?"

John winced in pain, but a moment later his sneer was back in place. "Why don't you find out?"

Logan reared back and slammed John against the wall again. "You've got thirty seconds kid-I mean it, now talk."

"Magneto's fallen into a sort of…rough patch. Poor and hiding, it's pitiful. He refuses to do anything himself for fear of both mutants and humanity."

Logan grunted. "Yeah well that's his problem, not mine. 20 seconds."

"He's been watching Mystique, afraid she might try to take revenge on him. Mystique is the one who's working with Sabertooth and several others, including Erik's own kids. I saw Sabertooth and another guy kidnap Rogue, but Magneto already knows where her new hideout is, so I didn't need to follow them." At Logan's enraged look, he quickly hurried on. "So the deal is this, you take care of both Sabertooth and Mystique, and gets Magneto's kids back, and he'll give you Rogue."

A low and menacing growl was his response; John took that as a yes. "Good, Sabertooth will be at the plant up on Rockside tomorrow at eight, after dark." He pressed a piece of paper that had come out of nowhere into Logan's hands. "That's all you need to know, I'll contact you again when Sabertooth is dead."

Logan dropped John and he scampered away, out the back end of the alley. He turned to Kitty and Kurt. "You two, get home. Tell Storm what's happened." His voice was so low that Kitty almost didn't hear him. He sounded dangerous.

Without another word, Kurt grabbed her hand and dragged her away from Logan. Kitty had half a thought to call out. "What will you be doing?"

His response was so guttural that Kitty almost couldn't distinguish the words. "Tracking, I'll be trackin'." With that, Logan rounded the corner that John had just escaped from. That was the last sight Kitty saw of him before Nightcrawler teleported them away.


	4. Promise

_A/N: Thanks again to all my reviewers, my personal thanks is sent to all of you separately._

_Lovestoread: Thanks, I tried to work in the past part without sounding too redundant, I'm glad you liked it. I hate it when characters are changed, so I'll do my best to keep them as they are. Yeah, I'm still planning out the future parts for Kurt, Kitty, and Logan, I'm hoping I can stay up to your expectations. Hope you enjoy this chapter too!_

_Annie: Aww, thanks, I'm touched. It's always good to hear my writing is getting better and people like it. heh, there will be more Rogue/Remy later, don't worry about that. ;p_

_Silverskies: Thanks, I'm trying to be original in it-there's just so many ideas out there that have already been taken, so I'm trying to twist this into my own idea. I'm glad you're like the Magneto /Irene war tug, there will be explanation of that and more later. Logan's always protective of his little southerner, can't ever change that. It's just so cute. Hehe, when he in reality comes across Gambit there will be sparks indeed. Yes of course, wouldn't miss that. Remy not hold his own:O are you questioning Remy's abilities? That's like a sin! lol, you'll see. I still have to decide how I want that to play out. Yeah, Pyro doesn't strike me as the squirmy type, so I gotta stick to his character. His misguided loyalty indeed, only as the plot thickens will such ties and twists be revealed, but I'll tell ya now, I'm really plannin' that one out. It'll be very sly and tricky. Anyway thanks for the compliments and the review, hope to keep your interest._

_----------------------------------------------Italics mean the psyches are talking-or Remy's just using his uberly cool accent-----------------_

_So uh…when's de fille goin' t' wake up?_

_The hell should I know? I ain't her alarm clock._

_What's a homme supposed t' do up here?_

_Nothin', you're supposed to sit down n' shut up. Our voices can be heard by her, ya know. It's gotta be annoyin'-an' sometimes I suppose she gets headaches from us._

_How do y' know dat?_

_You can see her memories an' shit. Rogue's melded with us, everythin' she's seen, we see, everythin' she's known, we know._

_Dat certainly sounds interestin'…even in de fille's room?_

_Better watch it, bub. That's my daughter you're talkin' about. Bein' in Rogue's mind doesn't protect ya from me or the rest of the psyches. Or her. You try anythin' and I won't hesitate. _Menacing claws flicked out from in-between Logan's knuckles. Remy took a step back and sat down on the bed behind him, coolly unafraid of Logan.

_Oui, homme. Remy won't try notin' wit' y' around._

_I'm always around. Don't do anythin' stupid, Cajun. Fights jus' give her bigger headaches. You have no idea how much Rogue goes through everyday, she doesn't need more from us. An' I'm sure she doesn't want to be raped of her dignity in her mind._

_Remy didn' know de fille was so complicated. Wit' all dese thoughts an' people in her mind…how does she know whose thoughts are whose?_

_She doesn't, really. Every time another person is added to her mind, its jus' that much more confusin' for her to sort it all out. She's got barriers that keep us from automatically takin' control of her mind, but sometimes those don't hold. Like when that blue bitch invaded her, she wasn't ready to get that sort of information or hold Mystique's mind. Her barriers fell and automatically her mind tried to meld together with ours._

Remy's psyche tried to piece this together. _What would happen if dey succeeded in blendin'?_

Psyche Logan shrugged. _Dunno, it's never happened. Nothin' good, that's for sure. She could end up loosin' control of her body to one or more of the psyches._

Remy frowned._ Dat don't sound good. _There was a moment of silence that followed, in which Remy eyed Logan up. He was pretty sure he could take the man.

_I heard that, Cajun. Think again._

_How did-_

_ALL thoughts an' memories are shared here. You should think about that before you try to do anything stupid._

Remy's forehead creased and his frown deepened. _But Roguey said dat she couldn' access memories like dat. _

_She can, she chooses not to. It only further confuses her about who she is, plus she's not a psyche, so it's not as easy for her to do so. Since we're already remnants of Rogue's mind, we can easily see anything else someone else is thinking or has done before. But Rogue's technically the controller of her mind, so it's harder for her to go in and view things like that. I already know you through, Cajun. An' that's why I'm tellin' ya now-don't try it with Rogue an' don't violate her mind._

_Dat must be hard for her…_At Logan's harsh glare, he added._ Remy won't do anythin' t' violate Rogue. Remy doesn't violate women, dey come by choice._

Logan snorted. _Yeah, don't play that game with me, bub. I know how all those guys lure girls in and I've seen how you've done it. _

_Remy guess it not be de right time t' ask how t' see int' one's memories?_

_Watch it; I'm keepin' a close eye on you._

Remy grinned. _Was jus' curios. See, Remy's not here but for a few hours an' he's already makin' friends. What a natural._

Logan glanced at Remy out the corner of his eye. It was a sarcastic look that said he didn't appreciate Remy's humor. Remy chose to change the subject. _Well, what is dis place anyway? Looks a lot like de mansion Remy's stayin' in now. An' where's everybody else? Y' de only one dat wanted to greet Remy when he came?_

_This is Xavier's mansion-well, now its Storm's, but the kids still call it Xavier's. It's the place that took Rogue in. An' everybody is doin' somethin' else. A new arrival is surprising and whatnot, but I bet they already know you through. I'm personally surprised that John's not here to meet you. You'd be his idol, practically, but I doubt anyone else would much care. David keeps to himself mostly as does the other boy Rogue absorbed in her high school, Matt or somethin', they're a little afraid of Erik. The kid that was beating on Rogue is almost never seen, we've made sure to that. He was really annoyin' to her-and us too, all cocky and shit-kinda like you. Erik doesn't intrude unless it's 'intelligent discussion about world affairs' or something. He's also a bit protective of Rogue-which surprises me. Bobby's avoiding me and Mystique's in here somewhere, but if I find her I'm going to kill her, so she better stay out of sight too-though I do want to see what she's thinking. Can only do that when the other is present... And then there's you._

_Gee, Rogue hasn't touched a lot o' people._

_Not since her power started, no. She's very self-conscious about it._

_Remy wouldn' o' guessed. De way she jumped on him-_

_Cajun, I'm tellin' you-you better stop. There are a lot of people that are protective of Rogue up here an' you're going to find yourself in a lot of pain if you keep it up. Rogue's a teenaged girl, she kissed you because she's full of hormones that haven't been able to control her since her powers started. It's no wonder she would do that if she absolutely had to touch you. Don't make anything more of it._

_Y' break my heart, homme._

_That'd be a pleasant change, from the way I see it. _

_Hey, Remy leaves de filles feelin' like queens-he was raised a gentleman. _

Logan snorted again. _Alrigh', that's enough chattin' with you. I'm going to wake Rogue._

Remy jumped up from the bed he was sitting on. _Remy's comin'!_

_You don't have to get up. Jus' sit tight. _Logan turned his head upward and called out softly. _Rogue…come on, get up. You've slept long enough, we've gotta get you outa here already._

On the bed that Rogue was lying on, she stirred. The person across the room from her glanced in mild interest. It was about time Rogue started to wake up. _Yeah, com'on darlin', it's time to wake up._

_Logan…_

_I'm right here darlin'. There's someone in this room wit' you, be careful._

Remy glanced at Logan quizzically. _Dis a normal routine for y'?_

_A lot of the time, yeah. _Logan glanced back up._ Alright, darlin'. We're gunna getcha out of here. Don't worry._

Rogue curled up into a ball and shivered. _You're…You're mah father, Logan…_

_It's news to me too, darlin'. Don't worry about it right now, you can tell Logan when you get back home. _

_Remy never woulda guessed such a match. De hairy homme an' de belle fille…she must get her mother's genes._

Several things happened at once. Rogue came fully awake and fell of the bed in a jerky movement; Logan openly cussed out at Remy which filled Rogue's head with vulgarity and anger, and the woman across the side of the room that was sitting in her chair jumped up as her chair audibly clanked to the ground.

Rogue groaned and rubbed her head. To her surprise, her head wasn't as hurting as much as when she had fell unconscious, in fact she could even open both eyes without any trouble. Her back didn't even hurt. She suspected Logan had something to do with that. She sent a silent thanks to him and lifted herself to a sitting up position. She was about to completely lift herself off the floor when two strong hands picked her up off the ground from under her armpits.

When she was on both feet again, Rogue squirmed out of the other person's grasp and turned around to face them. She was met with the red haired woman with the matching scarlet outfit from the other day. Rogue opened her mouth to speak, but the other woman beat her to it.

"What are you, spastic? Come on, I've been waiting forever."

Rogue's forehead creased as the woman turned around. She assumed she was supposed to follow, but she was the victim of this scenario. She wasn't going to make anything easy. "Ah'm not goin' anywhere, but home. Ah've had enough of this place."

The woman stopped and turned around with an eye roll. "Is that how you're going to be? Look girly, I don't give a shit that you're Mystique's daughter or that you don't want to be here. The fact is, you're here and you're not gettin' away until Mystique wants you to. So just deal with your issues and get over here."

Rogue didn't move. "Ah'd lihke ta see ya make meh."

The woman seemed to smile thinly at the comment, as if she found the mere idea funny. "You've got spunk, I'll give you that. I'm obviously more trained than you; you don't want to get into a fight with me. I saw the way Pietro beat you the other day, you're no match for me if you can't even beat him. This is for your own good, just follow and shut up."

Rogue's expression darkened at the mention of the fight yesterday. It wasn't a fair fight; Pietro had the clear advantage of surprise and speed. Rogue could have beaten him if she wasn't so preoccupied with escaping.

_Don't get into a fight jus' yet, darlin'. Jus' follow her for now, wait for a better opportunity._

_Remy'd be careful 'bout gettin' into a fight wit' Wanda, cherie. De fille's not kiddin' when she says she's trained. She IS Magneto's daughter, after all._

Feeling a bit resentful, Rogue walked up behind the older mutant and a smug look graced her otherwise pretty features. "I thought so." Rogue's fists clenched at her sides.

The woman led her through numerous passages and down long hallways. Rogue tried to remember which way she turned, but this part of the mansion was different from Xavier's and she soon found herself lost along the way. _Don't worry, I'll remember this Rogue._

Rogue bit her lower lip. She hated being so vulnerable, she just wanted to go home. Why did Mystique suddenly start caring that she was her daughter? She didn't seem to have the same problem when she was about to kill her at Liberty Island. And even further, why now? Had Mystique known all along? Why hadn't Rogue been told? Remy began to speak in Rogue's mind throughout her musings.

_How did y' heal her?_

_It takes concentration and my allowance. It works better when she's unconscious because then she doesn't feel the strain it takes on her body and mind. I've only tried it a few times, but the one time I did when she was awake-it really hurt her. My mutations' flush of energy, pulsatin' through her-her body jus' wasn't ready for that kind of energy. It ended up drainin' her of strength and although it did work, her body had clearly taken the strain of another unnatural mutation. I think she could tap into our powers if she tried hard enough, but it takes a degree of control and concentration that she's not up to yet. It'll be a long while till she's that far._

Remy mused this over silently. Rogue could be a really powerful mutant if she learned to deal with the strain of using another's powers. Didn't every mutant go through a strain when they used their powers? It was something that boggled Remy's mind for the moment.

Rogue rounded a last corner and came up short by a door at the end of a long hallway. Wanda opened the door without knocking and Rogue followed her in. Mystique looked up from a desk at the back of the room. "Rogue, it's good to see you're awake. I'm glad to see you so soon; I thought you'd be out for longer."

"Ah can't say the same."

Mystique continued as if Rogue hadn't spoken. "I intend to start your training, as it seems you've healed from Pietro's…incident. You-"

Rogue's forehead creased even further into a deeper frown. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, what do ya take meh for? Ah'm not stayin' around. Ah don't care that your mah mother, Ah'm goin' back ta the mansion. Ya can't keep meh here."

Mystique seemed unmoved, but that woman almost never showed emotions so that was no surprise. "I see. There's something you wish to discuss with me, what is it?"

Rogue stared at her incredulously. "Are ya kiddin'? Your crazy, Mystique! Ya kidnap meh, your 'minions' beat meh up, then ya force your mind into mahne, an' now ya want meh to stay in this place? Ah don't think so, Ah don't care what ya kidnapped meh for or why ya started carin' 'bout meh now. Ah'm outa here."

Rogue made to turn around and exist the same way she came, but Wanda moved in front of the door and blocked the way. Rogue grunted lowly, sounding dangerous. "Get outah mah way, bitch."

Without warning, Wanda struck. Her brow furrowed and she swung around to kick Rogue in the stomach, but Rogue had seen it coming. In mid kick, she caught Wanda's foot and quickly proceeded to do a lower, wide sweeping kick that took the woman's other leg out from under her. Wanda collapsed as Rogue stepped back, preparing for the older mutant to come back at her. What she wasn't ready for was a mutation.

With a sadistic glint in her eyes, Wanda began murmuring words that meant nothing to Rogue. Within seconds, her hands sparked a fiery red color that almost matched her brilliant hair and suddenly, the floorboards under Rogue snapped. Rogue started to fall, but with a desperate swipe she managed to barely grab a hold onto one of the hanging floorboards.

Rogue glanced down and wished she hadn't. The floor was at least twenty feet below. She was hanging directly above the main foyer and the marble floor didn't look soft. The swinging floorboard that Rogue had grabbed a hold of creaked; it was dangerously close to snapping. Rogue squeaked, quickly panicking she attempted to reach up to grab one of the more solid supports with her other hand. She was mere inches away when the floorboard snapped.

For less than a millisecond Rogue feared the fall she was about to experience, but before that could happen, a blue arm reached down and caught her other flailing arm. Rogue experienced a short jerk in her arm that felt as if it were being pulled out of its socket before Mystique lifted Rogue out from the open hole in the floor panels.

Mystique set Rogue back down on her two shaky legs before sitting back down in her chair. Wanda still sat before the door, looking bored and uncaring. Her look could easily have been described as nonchalant, but Rogue could have sworn the edges of her mouth quirked upward when Rogue glared at her.

Mystique's tone was also steady, as if Rogue hadn't just been about to fall twenty feet onto hard marble. "Very funny, Wanda. I'd appreciate if you refrained from doing that again." Wanda didn't even acknowledge her, but Mystique didn't seem to care any further. "Rogue." Rogue turned and faced Mystique, still trembling a bit. "I understand that you may not like me or any of us. I only recently found out that you're my daughter, otherwise I never would have tried to kill you at Liberty Island."

Rogue snorted and retorted sarcastically. "Yeah, just forget that."

"But you must understand. I cannot let you go back to the X-Men, they've influenced you enough as it is. If you try to escape again, you will most likely end up either unconscious or dead. I don't expect that to stop you, but I do wish you'd be a little more compliant."

Rogue grit her teeth. "What tha hell do ya want meh for anyway, Mystique? Ya got plenty of other lackeys around ta do your dirty work. Why am Ah so important ta ya?"

Mystique's gaze was stony. "Because you're my daughter and I've already lost one child to a ridiculous calling. I won't loose a second."

Rogue opened her mouth to heatedly retort, but then she paused. Mystique had more children? That would make…

"Who is this other 'child' ya lost?" It was more of a demand than a question, but Rogue had a right to know of any siblings she might have.

"You know him, I believe. Kurt Wagner, the new teacher at Storm's school."

Rogue stared at Mystique. Kurt was her brother? The reality of the situation hit her. She was the daughter to a terrorist, and to a man who couldn't remember his past beyond the inhumane tests done to him, she had a brother that she never knew about and was currently taken prisoner by her own mother who was delusional that Rogue might actually want to be there. When had things become so messed up?

Rogue sighed, taking a less defensive tone she explained. "Look, Mystique Ah really don't care ta be here. Whatever plans ya had for meh, jus' get somebody else. Ah realize ya don't want ta 'loose another child' as ya say, but if ya wanted family time, kidnapping meh wasn't the best way ta go about it. Can ya jus' let meh go, please?" She wasn't begging; Rogue wouldn't beg for anything, she was better than that. She was merely requesting that Mystique let her leave without further conflict. She'd get back to the mansion all the same, but she preferred to do that in one piece. Rogue was strong, but she wasn't stupid. She knew she couldn't take down all the obstacles and people Mystique had at the mansion by herself.

Mystique looked up from the paper in her lap to stare at Rogue in something Rogue could almost relate to as sympathy. In another second, the flash of emotion was gone, but Rogue had seen it all the same. When Mystique spoke, her tone was softer, not as demanding. "I only want to protect you, Rogue. I want to teach you to properly defend yourself," she held up her hand, knowing Rogue was about to interject. "I know Logan's at the mansion and I know there are others there that care for you too. Is it too much to ask for time with my daughter?" That wasn't all Mystique wanted, but Rogue didn't need to know that. "I want to train you in a way that you'll never need to depend on others for. I know you hate your mutation, as any other teenager would. I may be able to help you with that. I only want what's best for you; I know you've suffered through a lot. I just want to help you gain control." Mystique chose her words carefully, choosy about what she was telling Rogue. If Rogue was hoping to ever touch, then she'd be sorely disappointed, but Mystique needed a way to lure Rogue in. She had to make Rogue's stay optional, not forced. When she saw the light of hope in Rogue's eyes at the nearly empty promises, she knew she had caught her.

_Rogue…_

Rogue either didn't hear or didn't give heed to Logan's voice; she was so captivated by Mystique's offer.

It was the one thing the southerner wanted more than anything else, and Mystique knew just how to dangle it out in front of her. Deep inside she realized Mystique could just be luring her, but her hope was far too strong to let such a tiny voice ruin that ray of light. She found herself staring at her shoes, her defenses were breaking. "I love you, Rogue."

The last defense snapped. Nobody loved her. She was the untouchable. Her foster parents rejected her, her old high school friends turned their backs on her, even Bobby who was one of the only people to look past her mutation had betrayed her. Nobody really cared about her, she was a loner. A freak among freaks. The phrase stuck harshly in her mind, for that was what she was.

_Rogue we care for you…think about this. _

"No more." The muttering was indistinguishable to the others in the room, but her breaking change was obvious. Her brilliant emerald eyes rose up to stare at Mystique. "Okay. I'll stay, for now."

From the doorway, Wanda watched the proceedings in interest. She had to admit, Mystique was pretty good. She had the girl enthralled in what she was saying, without even a shred of proof that she could fulfill it. She thought the spunky southerner would put up a stronger fight, but apparently the mere hope of normalty was enough to push her over the edge. Wanda didn't know what the girl must have suffered, but it had to be pretty bad if she was so hopeful. Wanda slightly pitied Rogue, but she didn't show it on her face or allow the thought any more recognition than a mere glance. Everyone had problems in their life; it was just fate's way of spitting at them. Rogue was no different. _No different._ The words came back to her and struck a cord, but no. She wouldn't allow herself to think of that. She'd never think back to that.

With quiet footsteps that surprised even her, Wanda melted back from the doorway and into the shadows of the hall. Rogue's problems weren't hers, she had enough to deal with in her life without caring for a lone southerner. With those last comforting thoughts, Wanda descended down the long hallway and disappeared into another room. She needed to be alone for the time being.


	5. Psyches

_A/N: Thank you once again, all my reviewers._

_Lovestoread: Thanks, that is my point really-to entertain. heh, so it's good that you like it. Anyway :) head Remy is always fun to write, especially with someone like Logan. See what you think of this one._

_SilverSkies: Heh, wow, thank you! Yeah, protective Logan rocks! Let's hope for lots more of him! Remy n' Logan are great to write about in a conversation, they're just beautiful. :O Logan completely kick Remy's ass?! NO! Remy can hold his own! Even against Logan! I'll admit too that I am biased for that slick Cajun. But two of them together, talking?! Amazing! So much beauty in more simple mind! lol, anyway it just isn't right. Remy is one of the best thieves in the world, of course he can fight back. You tell those authors that they're just being silly. heh, yeah, yeah! How are the x-men going to react? We shall see! Not in this chapter...maybe the next, we haven't even gone to the X-mansion yet! Yes that's something we shall fix, indeed. :O You love my Wanda?! hugs her Wanda protectively No, she's my Wanda! lol jk, I love my Wanda too!...not like that, ok so you will certainly see more things between those stubborn girls, I'm a strong supporter of stubborn Rogue and Wanda friendship. So although it appears maybe not now, it will be soon. : ) Mystique...hmm, you see I don't read the comics, but I have heard that she was in a relationship with Irene...yes that certainly is interesting. I'll have to see what I want to do with that, maybe so, maybe not. We'll see. But it's great to hear you like my Mystique too, 'cause she's just soo cool also. Happy you're enjoying the story!  
_

_IMPORTANT: Psyche talk will always be in parentheses._

_Ice _

--------

Head Remy wandered through the halls of the mansion, Logan had left temporarily to go find Mystique and had told Remy not to make trouble. It was some twenty minutes later that he found another boy. He recognized him as John from Logan's descriptions earlier. John stopped at the new arrival and seemed to appraise Remy for a minute.

_So you're the new guy._

Remy's expression darkened as he realized he was being judged. A funny, squirming sensation was floating around his mind and it didn't take a genius to know that John was poking around, figuring him out. Remy would have done the same thing if he knew how, but he didn't and it was unnerving to have someone else catch all his memories. _Mind cuttin' dat out, homme._

It was more of a demand than a request; John raised his eyebrows skeptically, as if he doubted that Remy knew what he was doing. His gaze changed from skepticism to one of admiration. _You're pretty slick for being a dirty thief, pretty smooth with women too. It's too bad Rogue's never absorbed a female; I bet you could cause her some mind-shaking thrills by showin' her what she lacks. That would give her some nice little head trauma._

Remy decided, he really didn't like this guy. With a forced effort, he pushed John out of his mind and scowled. _What de hell is y' problem, homme?_

John shrugged, as if he were having a normal, everyday conversation. _No problem here, why you goin' all defensive on me? That bitch absorbed us both and then almost betrayed our supreme race by getting the fuckin' cure. She deserves all the torment she gets…but I guess you might think differently, after that kiss and all. I wouldn't take it as a compliment 'homme'_ he poorly imitated Remy's accent, _that bitch jus' wants what she can't get. You weren't chosen for any specific reason, she was jus' being slutty on you…but I guess you also go for that too, judging by your memories._

Remy's eyes darkened in anger, this punk had insulted his heritage, called him cheap, and worst of all, he boldly insulted Rogue. She could probably even hear ever word that was being said, and this kid was just making her feel worse. _Y' gunna pay for dat, homme. _

Remy leapt at the cocky boy and harshly punched him in the face. John growled and pushed him down. Remy rolled back at the boot that came smashing down, intended for his head. In the same movement, he arched backwards and kicked John's feet out from under him. John crashed to the ground and Remy was on top of him in an instant. He got in quite a few good punches before John kicked out and Remy fell off him, but he'd obviously gotten his good share of hits in.

John's fists clenched and fire shot out from them, aimed straight at Remy. He barely dodged out the way in time, but the fire singed his shirt anyway. _Non! _Remy didn't think, without focusing he pulled out his deck of cards and lit up two of them with the red-orangish glow that was about to be turned into a bomb. Without further warning, he flung the cards at John.

John didn't know what the cards did, and couldn't get out of the way in time. They exploded near his chest and flung him back down; he desperately cried out in pain as the explosion burned him. Remy was about to jump back on him, but before he got the opportunity, Logan appeared, furious and nearly steaming himself. _Idiot! Do you know what you've done?!_

With barely a flick of his foot, he knocked John out and then closed his eyes, appearing to focus. His claws flicked repeatedly in and out, accomplishing that Remy didn't know. Only a few seconds later his eyes popped open and he glared dangerously at Remy. _She's unconscious now, and in a lot of pain, thanks to you. What the hell did you not understand about the command don't make trouble?!_

Remy couldn't even bring himself to defend his side. It hadn't been his fault, he was sticking up for Rogue, but that didn't matter. He had caused Rogue pain. Without considering the consequences it'd have on her, he'd recklessly fought with John and now Rogue was unconscious because of him. _Is…is she alright?_His voice held an emotion that he hadn't known he had, fear.

Logan grunted at him. _Jus' scram kid, git outa my sight. Lock yourself in a room or somethin', jus' get outa here._

Remy did as he was told; his heart was heavy with guilt that he didn't know how to fix.

--------

Her breathing was heavily labored as she dodged away from the glowing orange disc. It had been going on five hours now that she'd been working with Remy to 'improve her skills'. Honestly, she didn't know how dodging exploding discs improved anything. Not that they had been doing that for the past five hours, but Rogue had found little to no use in anything they'd been doing. It started out with simple exercises before she was told to keep pace with Remy. It wasn't all that hard, but after the tenth mile Rogue had begun to wear down. She wasn't a distance runner; she was surprised that she had managed to keep pace with him for that much.

After bending over and asking for a break, they had moved on to the next exercise. Her ten mile jog had worn her out a bit and she wasn't prepared to start weight lifting. How was that supposed to help her anyway? She was supposed to be learning how to defend herself, why was she being worked like a horse? Now, for the past forty minutes, she had been desperately dodging Remy's thrown objects, which had gradually begun increasing in size. That didn't even include the voices in her head that she was trying to ignore. They were fighting again, and although she couldn't focus enough to determine who it was, it was nagging at the edges of her mind. With effort, she pushed the thoughts away and concentrated on the task at hand.

Rogue dodged through the trees as another disc whizzed by her head. Unfortunately, she was paying too much attention to the flying bombs to really notice her surroundings. A low tree branch caught her by the throat in mid jump and she was strangled for a minute before flipping back down hard to land with a crunch on her back. Above her, the flying disc exploded and sent a hundred tiny pieces of shrapnel at her face. Rogue covered her head with both arms and experienced a stinging sensation pricking into her arms. She bit her lip to stop from crying out in pain, but her eyes watered all the same. By the time the action was over, Rogue lowered her arms to stare worriedly at the tiny pinpricks of blood that oozed from dozens of minor wounds.

Rogue stayed on the ground, surprised that more discs weren't flying over her head. Instead, Remy's face came into her line of vision. "Y' supposed t' run from de discs, _cherie_, not int' de tree."

Rogue was too winded to snarl anything back. At this point, she would have paid to switch this training back for danger room sessions. At least those didn't keep running for five hours, and she could stop the simulation when she got tired. By now, she was near exhaustion.

Rogue let her eyes drift closed as she sighed in deeply. All she really wanted to do was melt in the warm water of a hot bath, when she opened her eyes again, Remy wasn't there.

Rogue tried to lift herself off the forest floor, but the effort was too much. She plopped back down and weakly called out in a rash voice. "Remy?"

She was answered by his voice from her left. "What _chere?_"

Rogue relaxed again. "Are we…Am Ah done fohr the day?"

"_Non,_ it jus' y' ten minute break."

Rogue froze. "What?"

A soft chuckle followed her scared exclamation. "Jus' kiddin' wit' y' _cherie._ Y' been done for some time now. Jus' figured y' like t' dodge around de forest, besides, y' look cute in dose tight outfits dat Mystique's havin' y' wear."

The words registered and Rogue turned her head to send a death glare at Remy. "Ya kept meh longer than was needed?! Cajun, Ah'm gunna kill ya!"

"Remy's not very worried 'bout dat. Y' havin' trouble gettin' up, how y' gunna beat ol' Remy? An' y' might not have de time t' go doin' dat, y' trainin' wit' Wanda is scheduled in an hour."

"Cajun!"

"No kiddin' 'bout dis one, really is."

Rogue let her head plop down against the forest floor. "Ah hate ya."

"Let's be realistic 'bout dis, _cherie._ Remy knows y' enjoyed de view o' him when y' kept passin' by an' glancin' back. It wasn't _dat_ hard fo' y'."

Rogue clenched her teeth together. "You're such a Swamp Rat!"

"Aww, Remy had no idea y' were goin' t' give him a pet name too."

"It's not a pet name, it's an insult!"

"Whatever y' say, _River Rat_."

Rogue opened her mouth to retort, but was interrupted by a flash of pain through her head. _Non! _She moaned softly and flipped over, facing away from Remy to stop him from seeing her eyes water temporarily. She tucked her hands inward and curled up protectively, closing her eyes, as if the position would take away the voices or the pain. Vaguely, she registered that it had just became about twenty degrees warmer and was increasing all the more. It was only when she felt her body start to burn that she opened her eyes. Her shirt glowed a dazzling, orange-red color and that emitted the heat that was slowly burning her. Rogue panicked and fell out of the fetal position with a desperate cry of "Remy!"

He was by her side in less than an instant, but he was just a second too late. Her shirt exploded with the lack of her touch against it. With it left the heat, but Rogue was still panicking. Her eyes were wide and doe-like, glistening with unshed tears. Remy's worried gaze fell onto hers, and he grabbed her by the shoulders to stop her from shaking. "Rogue, are y' alright?!"

Her burns hurt; it felt like the covered most of her shoulders down back of her neck to cover her back and stomach. The outfit had been tight fitting, it was a workout suit, and although it was stretchy and let her move around, it clung to keep the wearer warm. Rogue whimpered and Remy immediately gathered her in his arms in a supportive hug. She was nearly naked, but Rogue was too tired and too weak to protest, not that she even wanted to. She folded down into his grasp. From there, Remy wasted no time in lifting her off the ground and supporting her in his arms as if she weighed no more than a feather. Thank God he had chosen to wear his trench coat, even though it was such a hot day. With it, and his fingerless gloves, he had enough safety from Rogue's exposed skin to hurry back to the mansion with Rogue in his arms.

Another flash of pain swept through her frame and Rogue began to violently spasm. Her head her, her body ached, and the burns that covered her top were rapidly healing. Remy stared for a minute, forgetting the situation as Rogue's burns grew fresh flesh over top of the raw skin. It was when Rogue started to spasm that he came back to his senses and returned to running back to the mansion. Rogue cried out in anguish, wrestling this way and that, just trying to escape the pain. Her body arched back, unaccustomed to such brutal agony as the tears fell freely from her watery eyes. She tried to focus on Remy, on his labored breathing, on the smell of his body, anything to distract her from the pain.

Remy felt Rogue go limp in his arms and he realized she had fainted.

--------

Five minutes later, Remy stood in Mystique's bathroom, presently facing the wall in respect of Rogue's privacy. Mystique was carefully aiding Rogue, although all of her wounds had healed. She ran hot water out of the bathtub spout and carefully wiped away smudges of dirt. Remy had just finished telling Mystique what happened. She was silent for a minute, which was scarier than when she was yelling, before her calm voice asked.

"Hand me that towel, Remy."

Her calm appearance was unsettling to say in the least. Remy obeyed his command and handed her the towel without turning around. If it had been any other woman, he might have smiled and enjoyed the scenery, but this was Rogue. Rogue, who was hurt and helpless. Rogue, who had used his power and hurt herself. Rogue, who was his friend. He felt oddly responsible and guilty for her present situation, though it couldn't possibly have been his fault.

"Is she alright?"

"She'll be fine." When she didn't continue, Remy asked.

"What…what happened to her?"

Mystique continued drying off Rogue before dressing her comfortably. "I can't say for sure, but it was most likely her psyches. I thought so when I saw she healed from Pietro's injuries, but now it seems this confirms it. Rogue can still use the powers of the people she absorbed in the past."

This sent Remy's mind into overdrive. If it had to do with her psyches, then it had to be his psyche that forced his power upon Rogue. He suddenly felt more hallow than he thought possible. Mystique continued her explanation, but it seemed like she was talking to herself more than him. "That probably means Rogue can't control her psyches' powers. They just come when her psyches use them…I'll have to work with her for that control. She can't be allowed to inadvertently keep hurting herself, even if Logan's healing her. It's taking its toll on her strength and mind, not just her body."

Remy swallowed hopelessly, he suddenly didn't want to be there, in that room with Rogue's limp form. "Is dere anythin' else y' need, Mystique?"

Mystique looked at him from the corner of her eye, perhaps forgetting he was there. "No, Rogue will rest in my room. You may leave." He did, Mystique carried Rogue over to the bed and laid her down gently. Rogue didn't even twitch, she was completely still. Mystique covered her in an oversized blanket and kneeled down next to the bed. She carefully scraped away a streak of white hair away from Rogue's face. "Don't worry, my darling. You will be great, even yet." It was a mere whisper; even if Rogue had been awake she probably wouldn't have heard it. She stared at Rogue's serene face for a long time. Then, with an even softer whisper, she kissed the top of Rogue's forehead, where her striking white streaks covered the skin, and retired from the room.

--------

Logan had been following John for at least an hour now; the boy seemed to know he was being followed. The thought was wiped from his mind as John turned another corner and came upon an old warehouse. Looking around, he saw no one and proceeded inside.

Logan caught the door just as it was about to slam and slipped inside. The air smelled musty and stale, the warehouse obviously wasn't used. The rusted metal chunks made Logan's eyebrow twitch in question. He was on lower level, near huge crates that he'd rather not know what was inside. He heard footsteps and dashed behind a crate not a moment too soon. Milliseconds later, the sleek form of a well-proportioned woman passed by and left the warehouse. Logan caught her scent and put it in the back of his mind for later reference. He couldn't know for sure, even with his sharp eyes, but when the light fell upon her at an angle her hair appeared deep lavender. There was a star shape over one eye; she paused at the door at the sound of another voice. "Make sure to come back this time." Without a word, the woman left.

Logan focused on the voice of the speaker; it was John who had commented to the woman. He watched with sharp eyes as the boy turned and addressed no one in particular. "I'm back."

From the darkness of the other end of the room came a booming voice that Logan immediately recognized. "How did the meeting go?"

"Fine, he's going to the warehouse tonight."

"Are you sure?"

John sounded confused and defensive. "What's that supposed to mean? Of course I'm sure."

"Let's just have our visitor confirm that." Logan felt himself lifted into the air. He was powerless against the force as he floated face to face with the master of magnetism. "Logan, it's a pleasure."

John looked utterly shocked and a little frightened. "He wasn't there, I swear. I followed all the paths that would have lost him even if he was behind me."

Magneto shook his head. "It's fine John, you're dismissed."

Logan glared at Magneto. "Where is Rogue, you sick bastard."

Magneto frowned. "As much as you'd like to think so Logan, I have nothing against Rogue. I'm not in league with Mystique anymore and I don't know what she wants with Rogue. Maybe she's just trying to be motherly."

Logan growled lowly, "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

Magneto glanced up with mild interest, "Oh yes, that's right. You don't know, do you? Mystique is Rogue's mother."

Logan choked. "WHAT?!"

Magneto shrugged. "It's true, I've known for quite some time, but in order for my Liberty Island plan, she couldn't be told."

"You're lying! You're sick and you're lying!"

"Why would I lie about it? It doesn't matter anymore. Mystique has left us."

"Left you? You left her when she took a bullet for you! How is that her leaving you?"

Magneto's bottom lip curled. "I admit, some of the situation was…placed, but she did not return. She left us."

Logan stared incredulously. "She'd have been a fool to return to you."

Magneto analyzed him for a moment before changing the subject entirely. "I see that you've had a chat with John, though. Are you willing to take up my offer?"

"And why the hell am I supposed to trust you? You don't even respect your work partners. What makes you think I'd be foolish enough to trust you'd give me Rogue's location?"

"Because, if you ever want to see Rogue again, you will."

Logan snorted. "I'm not convinced."

Magneto considered him for a minute, raising an eyebrow and quirking his head. Logan noticed how old Magneto seemed to have grown, his lines of age were clearly defined and his eyes lacked the sharp edge they held before. His age was catching up with him. "Alright Logan, I'll make a deal with you. After you kill Sabertooth, I'll tell you where Rogue is. From there, do anything to get her back, but don't get yourself killed. After, then you must kill Mystique. And if you don't, I'll know and I'll come back. I don't think Rogue will like finding the body of her fa-protector with his innards crushed by his own metallic skeleton."

Logan caught his slip, but didn't think anything of it. "And why can't you kill them by yourself? Too busy being scared and hiding off in this old dump?"

Magneto's expression remained unchanged. If Logan's words affected him at all, he didn't show it. "I have plans in process that you can not even contemplate, Logan. Just go and kill them and get Rogue back. It's as simple as that." Logan wasn't worried about killing Sabertooth, he hated the other mutant and as far as he concerned, the furball would fully deserve it. Mystique was something else though, although he still hated the woman, if it was true that she was Rogue's mother…He didn't let any of it show on his face, only nodded. "Deal."

Magneto's hold on Logan left and Logan fell to the ground to land smoothly on his feet. His sharp eyes watched Magneto suspiciously for a minute before he turned to leave. Nobody called out to him on his way out, but Magneto's mouth quirked into a twisted smile.

--------


	6. Friends

Betsy Braddock stared out from her hidden alcove beneath the great willow tree. She was in Xavier's front yard, watching the children through the window. She needed to find Storm, but the damn woman just wouldn't show up. Betsy had moved her position at least twenty times from the first twilight of dawn, and was growing ever more impatient as time passed. She appreciated being stuck with the chore of gleaning on to the X-Men, but it was getting pretty annoying. If anyone other than Storm found her, they'd attack. Betsy was confident in her fighting skills and could easily defend herself, but she'd preferred not to make a ruckus. After all, she was supposed to be here for Magneto.

Betsy slid out of her alcove and moved to another window position. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a sweep of white hair flash across the screening and knew she had found her target.

Betsy wasted no time in scaling the East wall of the house to reach the window. It was easy work, the tree outside the window made it simple to leverage her weight between the two and make her way up. When she finally reached the window, she inspected the side. There didn't appear to be any kind of alarm, but Betsy knew there would be. Oh well, Storm was right inside the room. It didn't really matter at this point.

Betsy pried the window halfway open and immediately a loud alarm sounded across the school. Betsy could barely hear above the ruckus of the alarm, but she didn't care. She threw herself from the tree into the small slit of opening that the window allowed. Storm stood inside, eyes wide as she stared at Betsy.

"Betsy!"

Betsy stared straight at Storm.

"We need to talk." Betsy spoke in a clear cut British accent that immediately demanded attention.

Storm blinked and her eyes went milky white. "Talking's not all we're going to do. You betrayed us, Betsy."

Betsy didn't back down. "Stop jumping to conclusions, Storm. I'm not with Magneto."

"I wonder where I would have got that idea from,"

"It's true that I did work with him, but not anymore. Alcatraz was a disaster, I see that now."

Storm's eyebrows arched incredulously, but her eyes had returned to their smooth brown color. "You see that now? And what, you didn't see that before? I'm not going to trust you again Betsy, if that's what you're hoping for."

"I don't expect you would, but you really could use me. I have information and plans of Erik and his speculations. For instance, I know about Rogue."

Storm froze. "What do you know about Rogue?"

"I know who took her and partially why, among other things that you might find of interest. I can help you Storm, just let me." Storm dropped her guard only slightly. She was at least willing to hear Betsy out.

--

_"No, Lorna, don't cry. They'll hear you-!" It was too late, heavy footsteps thudded against the pavement, signaling their return. Wanda scooped Lorna into her arms and charged in the opposite direction. She had to get them both out of there and now, while they still could escape. Inwardly, she was cursing their bad luck. _

_Cold sweat dripped down Wanda's forehead as she ran. She realized she was freezing, but she barely gave the thought any heed. She continued down the long, narrow hallway until she reached a solid metal door. Her forehead creased in concentration as she called forth her powers to bend the door outward, but she wasn't fast enough. The guards showed up behind her. Wanda quickly pushed Lorna behind her and called forth her hex bolts. She instantly struck down two of the four guards. The guards were knocked back and clumsily fell into the others behind them. Wanda heard metal scraping before the door behind her abruptly opened._

_Lorna cried out and Wanda spun around to face their new opponents. One of them grabbed Lorna by the arm and Wanda was about to carefully shock him with another hex bolt-as to not hit Lorna by mistake, when someone grabbed her from behind. Two someones, actually. One set of hands wrapped themselves around her mouth and a kick was aimed above the back of her knees. Unsuspecting, Wanda collapsed and two more hands secured themselves around her wrists, tightly holding her hands back. _

_Wanda struggled out against them as the guard at the other end picked up Lorna by the back of her shirt. A leader stood behind him and glared at Wanda. "They're not the ones we need. Kill them."_

_At the words, he left and immediately after Wanda broke free from her captors, but she was too late. The guard across from her brought up a gun and shot Lorna directly in her forehead, point blank. _

_Time seemed to stop. Blood flew out from the tiny hole that the bullet made as Lorna fell. _

_A cry of anguish was ripped from Wanda's throat as she launched herself at the man. She punched him again and again, and when the other guards went to grab her again she shot out such strong hex bolts that they were immediately knocked unconscious. After that, she continued to punch the guard in front of her. He was long past dead, but Wanda didn't care. Tears blurred her vision as she repeatedly beat the dead man who had shot her sister. It was only the sound of more footsteps that brought Wanda out of her trance._

_She gingerly picked up Lorna's body; as if afraid she'd break if Wanda wasn't careful enough. With that, she left out the metal door that she'd been trying to escape from. It was a long run home; she dodged out of the guards' grasp and escaped far into the woods. She ran and ran, heading for home, but increasingly becoming more lost in the forest around her._

_Sometime later she collapsed among the tall spruce trees. They seemed to shroud in over her as she fell. She cried over Lorna's body, weeping with all her soul. She cried all the way into the surrounding darkness…and then…rustling…footsteps…_

Wanda woke up in a cold sweat with tears streaming down her face. She was breathing heavily and her heart was racing, as if she'd just run a marathon. She jumped out of bed and ran to the bathroom that connected to her bedroom. She threw up in the toilet as soon as she reached it, where she proceeded to empty out the rest of her stomach. When all the possible foods in her stomach were gone, Wanda striped down and took a cold shower. The water was icy against her skin, making her numb, but Wanda didn't want to feel. The water almost made her unreal. It was a feeling she liked.

When she stepped out of the shower she stared at the misty mirror for a long time. Hallow eyes stared back out of red rimmed green orbs. She still felt sick, but had nothing more to throw up. She hunched over and went back to her bedroom, where she dressed in loose fitting clothes that were not usually her choice. Walking out in slightly baggy jeans and a short, not as tightly fitting t-shirt, nobody would have known what a terrible start she had to her day.

Deciding to see if she had to 'tutor' Rogue yet, Wanda turned down the familiar hallway that led to Mystique's room. She knocked soundly, but no one responded. Wanda opened the door anyway.

Mystique wasn't in immediate view of the room, but there was someone on her bed. As Wanda drew closer, she recognized that someone to be Rogue. It was peculiar, Rogue was twitching. Every other second she violently shook, as if spasming from some unknown source. Reminded of her own nightmare not an hour ago, Wanda felt a meager pinch of pity. It could just as easily be a bad nightmare, but Rogue could also be reliving an experience she'd rather not see in her dreams.

Sighing at her pity for the other girl, Wanda moved beside her and gently shook her covered shoulder. She knew of Rogue's mutation, some kind of absorption through the skin,-though not any more than that, and she wasn't willing to touch her to find out. Rogue rolled over slightly, but didn't wake up. Her twitching was steadily increasing to a very detectable trembling.

Wanda shook her shoulder a little harder and Rogue's eyes shot open. Green emeralds, more brilliant than her own, stared in shock at Wanda's kneeling frame. She didn't seem to recognize her for a moment; but when she did, Rogue quickly backed up against the wall, away from Wanda. Her breathing was heavily labored. "Wha-What do you want?" Her blanket was held up to her chin, as if she were blocking Wanda.

"Nothing, you just looked like you were having a bad dream." Rogue's defensive nature brought out Wanda's wry humor. "I guess spasms are a regular nightly event for you."

Rogue dropped the blanket and it fell soundly to the bed. "Does everyone here have such poor humor? Honestly, sex jokes here an' sleeping habits there-what is wrong with ya people?" It was a rhetorical question; Rogue didn't really expect a response from Wanda. She didn't give one. Looking down, Rogue realized that she was dressed differently and in an unfamiliar room. She jumped, surprised, and glanced around her surroundings.

"What? How'd Ah get here, how'd Ah get dressed?"

Wanda leaned against the wall and inspected Rogue. She didn't understand what the other girl was talking about, but she could infer that something had happened, again, to knock her unconscious. "What do you last remember?"

"Remy…he was…"

Wanda raised an eyebrow. "Feisty with your kidnapper? You do take after your mother."

Rogue shot a disdainful glance her way. "He was carryin' meh back here, thank ya very much."

"Then I suspect Mystique cleaned you up."

Rogue contemplated this and her cheeks grew warm in embarrassment. Mystique had cleaned her up and dressed her? And then Remy had also carried her all the way back, nearly topless. Rogue stared down at her bed, suddenly fascinated with the covers.

"Oh give it a rest, she's your mother. She gave birth to you; you don't have anything she doesn't."

"Is everyone here so crude?" Rogue asked, still trying to suppress her blush.

Wanda shrugged. "Well, since Mystique isn't around, I'm leaving. Go for a forest walk or something, this building is too small."

"Can Ah come?" After she asked it, Rogue bit down hard on her tongue. Wanda probably didn't want to walk with her. Why had she asked in the first place? She didn't feel much like walking right then. Her squishy covers were calling back to her, but Rogue had already spoken. Wanda's eyebrow quirked again, Rogue had to admit, that girl had a skill for looking skeptical.

"If you want to."

With that, Wanda opened the door and left the room swiftly. Rogue jumped out of bed and followed her quick pace. She rubbed her eyes absently.

"So…"

Rogue looked at her, trying to imitate her eyebrow quirk. She didn't quite master it. "So…"

"What's your real name, anyway? I haven't heard anyone refer to you by anything but Rogue."

"It's Marie…but Ah jus' like ta be called Rogue. What about you?"

"Wanda Maximoff, Scarlet Witch." She paused. "You're from Xavier's mansion, then?"

"Yeah…"

"What goes on there, since he died?"

Rogue shifted, a little uncomfortable with the topic. "The same thing that always happened there. It's a school, we're taught."

"Not that," Wanda waved her off airily in that manner that suggested it didn't matter. "I mean your training stuff. How far do they actually teach you to fight?"

Rogue bit her bottom lip, thinking. "Well, not a lot…at least, not unless ya become an X-Man. Then the Danger Room's always open. But Ah get private lessons from Logan."

"Your dad?"

Rogue nodded hesitantly. Wanda must not have caught her hesitance.

"Isn't that weird…I mean how coincidental, that you'd both end up at Xavier's together. That's like fate."

"Ah guess…Ah hadn't really thought of it like that."

Wanda's mouth quirked in question, she really had talent for expressing emotions with simple facial expressions. "How'd you end up here? Your accent suggests you're from down south."

"Ah am, Ah ran away from mah home in Mississppi when mah mutation came."

"Why'd you go so far north?"

"Ah didn't originally. Ah planned on headin' ta some family in Texas, but when Ah hit Louisiana it struck meh that they might send meh back home."

"You weren't kicked out?"

Rogue shook her head. "Ah ran away. Ah was gettin' trouble at school fohr…fohr being a mutant an' Ah accidentally sent some kids ta the hospital. Ah kept attractin' trouble…some of the kids even decided ta gang up against meh. So eventually, Ah jus' decided it'd be better if Ah left. The heat wasn't a friend ta mah mutation either, that's why Ah went so far north. Ah could wear layers and not look lihke a freak." Rogue didn't know why she was being so open to Wanda, but Wanda seemed to be genuinely interested and concerned. Rogue felt a sort of…affinity to Wanda, after being kicked around by Pietro and thrown about by Sabertooth, it was nice to just talk with another woman about things.

Wanda eyed Rogue's clothing and noticed for the first time that the younger mutant wore gloves. "What are your powers, exactly?" The girls reached the door and Wanda held it open for Rogue. They left the mansion and Rogue followed Wanda down a roughly created path through the woods.

It was the question. Rogue swallowed and her accent grew thicker in her mouth. "Ah suck out tha life outa somebody if they touch mah skin. Ah could kill 'em if Ah hang on too long. Also, Ah sort of imprint them in mah mind too, so that there's lihke another voice in mah head. The psyches of that person stay forever, but Ah only keep their powers and characteristics fohr a short while."

Wanda was shocked. "Holy shit, that's the crappiest mutation I've ever heard of. You can't ever touch?" Rogue shook her head and leveled her gaze to the ground. "I don't blame you for believi-for staying then. The X-Men couldn't help you?"

Rogue shook her head again, still staring at the forest floor she responded hollowly. "Ah'm hopin' Mystique might be able ta do somethin'…but if not, then maybe she can at least help with the psyches. Since Xavier and Jean died, there aren't any psychics at the mansion that could help meh contain 'em."

Wanda frowned, like all the other expressions, this frown seemed magnified to show the full extent of her opinion on the matter. "What do your 'psyches' do? They're just like people walking around your head, or what?"

"Kinda. The professor helped meh create an environment fohr them-it's the X-Mansion, so that they can find a little peace by feeling a bit normal in mah mind. It also works as a block against their voices and such. They're always there and Ah'd hear them if Ah listened, but tha mansion is lihke a barrier so Ah'm not always hearin' their voices. When they address meh or they fight or yell though, it gives meh headaches an' stuff. Since tha professor's death, Ah haven't had tha walls reinforced in some tahme. Ah can support it mahself, but that takes effort an' it's not as good as a psychic's wall. They kinda jus' wander around, doin' their own thing. Everyone's personality is tha same as their outward personality, so it's jus' like Ah've got a lotta people in mah mind." Rogue realized she was rambling and abruptly shut her mouth. She eyed Wanda out of the corner of her eye.

The older mutant seemed to contemplating what she just heard. Her mouth quirked to the left for a moment before she answered. "That must be hard, to deal with all those people in your head. How do you manage?"

"Well it's only the ones that dislike meh who really cause problems. Everyone else tries ta be considerate of mah privacy. Ah can usually tell when one of 'em is searchin' through mah memories or nagging fohr control. Logan makes sure everythin' goes right; he's pretty imposin' ta those who try ta be a problem."

Wanda looked taken aback. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, what? What do you mean, 'nagging for control'."

"If Ah'm not careful, the psyches can control mah mind and take over mah body. Or when Ah touch, its jus' lihke this big flood of new emotions an' memories, sometimes Ah have trouble sorting out whose are whose. Ah can't be sure that everythin' Ah feel is mah own emotion. Professor Xavier helped a lot with that, but now that he's gone…"

"You have it really tough."

"Ah've gotten used to it…sort of. All but tha no touchin' thing. That still bothers meh."

Wanda shook her head in appraisal. "As it would to any other normal person. To have that inflicted upon you…jeez, I can't even contemplate that. I thought my powers were rough to control, yours must be a killer."

"It's alright…Logan and Erik watch out fohr meh up here." She indicated her head. "It's only recently that their fights an' stuff have started ta affect meh more."

Wanda stopped walking, Rogue continued for a moment until she realized that Wanda had stopped. Befuddled, Rogue turned to see Wanda avoiding her eye. "You…Erik's in your mind? Erik Lehnsherr?"

Confused, Rogue nodded. "Yeah, he forced himself in mah head when he tried ta kill meh…why? Do you know him?"

Wanda gave a soft chuckle that held no humor. "That sounds like him. Yeah, I know him. He's my father."

Rogue stiffened. "What?"

Wanda continued to avoid Rogue's eye, but she noticed the other girl's reaction. She grew tense herself. "I ran away from him when I was fourteen, he's a monster. He's been trying to track down Pietro and me for some time now, and there were some close calls. He's kidnapped us before, but we've escaped. That's why I'm staying with Mystique, although I don't do any of her shady jobs for her, I get to stay on if I teach you. Pietro just came along with the package."

"Pietro's your brother?!"

"Unfortunately enough, yes. He's arrogant and troublesome, but he's my brother so we've never separated." Her eyes suddenly rose to look apologetically at Rogue. "Sorry for the beating he gave you the other day…"

Rogue was nearly speechless with shock; Wanda, Pietro and Erik were all related? She had never got any indication of that in his memories. "Wow…this is really weird."

Wanda began walking again, Rogue followed her. "Yeah, just a little."

"So…Mystique jus' took ya in? Jus' lihke that, because she wanted ya ta train meh?"

"Well it probably also has to do with the fact that Pietro and I are Erik's kids. I think she gets some kind of pleasurable feeling of revenge to willingly have his children when we hate him. That and probably payback for not letting her keep her children. My fighting techniques and mutation were just an added bonus. Pietro doesn't really do anything, but like I said, he just comes with the package."

"That's…really messed up. Ah can't believe Ah didn't draw anythin' up from his memories about him havin' kids. It's kinda a big thing."

"I'm not surprised. Erik only found out when we were five and then collected us up. We were raised by my mother's nursemaid."

"What about your mom?"

"Died after we were born."

Rogue flinched. "Ah'm sorry."

Wanda shrugged it off in that uncaring manner she had. "Don't be, it doesn't matter."

A still silence followed. Rogue hated silences of any kind. "So why does Mystique care 'bout meh so much? She never seemed interested in Kurt…well as far as Ah know, but Ah never really talked much with Kurt either. He did save mah life once though, that shoulda been a startin' connection."

Wanda's fingers twitched uncomfortably. Rogue brought up a topic that she wasn't allowed to speak of with the girl. Wanda felt a growing fondness to Rogue, but it wasn't so strong that she'd tell Rogue what Mystique really wanted. She was just being friendly to the southerner, other than Mystique-which was limited option in itself; there were no other girls at the mansion. Rogue wasn't allowed to know the part she played in Mystique's goal. "I suppose she just wants you around. She's not a real motherly figure, but you are her daughter. I don't know about Kurt, but maybe she just wants you near."

Rogue frowned. "Doesn't she tell ya everythin'? Ya are lihke …Ah don't know, partners or somethin'."

Wanda gave mirthful chuckle. "That's funny. Definitely not, Mystique doesn't share most all her plans with anybody. She gives us a vague outline-like for your training, but that's it. I don't even know half the people she meets with."

Rogue's curiosity sparked. "Do you trust her?"

"Absolutely not." The words slipped out of her mouth before Wanda realized she had said them. Inwardly, she cursed and her eyes immediately averted from Rogue's.

Rogue was silent for a minute. Wanda's response had been quick and immediate; there was absolutely no hesitation beforehand which suggested Wanda might actually know more than she was letting on. "Do ya think…do ya think Mystique might be plannin' somethin' else fohr meh? Ah find it difficult ta believe she'd jus' want to have meh around..." Out of the corner of her eye, Rogue monitored Wanda's reaction. She noticed the slight twitch of her fingers and her eyes blinked. Rogue was positive; Wanda knew more than she was saying.

"I don't know, it's possible…" Wanda was on thin ice, she wasn't even supposed to be talking with Rogue about anything regarding Mystique or her plans. If Mystique found out, she'd be furious. "But I don't think so…"

"_Bonjour, belle filles, _may Remy join y' _dames _on dis lovely stroll?" Wanda silently thanked her lucky stars for the distraction, but wondered if Remy had been following them all along.

Apparently, Rogue thought so too. "Ya were followin' us!"

Remy put on a mock offended expression. "Do y' dink Remy would stoop so low? No, Remy doesn't have t' follow de _filles,_ dey do dat by demselves t' him."

Rogue rolled her eyes. "Ah'm sure they do. Cut your ego fohr half a minute if ya are goin' ta walk with us."

"_Oui, _Remy agrees. He'll let de _dames _do de work wit'out instruction." Remy suddenly turned to Rogue and seemed to grow a little more serious than his usually playful manner. "Y' okay from before _chere_? Remy don' want his River Rat t' be hurt."

"Ah'm feelin' better." Rogue assured him, but his words brought back the memory and the memory made her wonder. She had used other powers, that weren't Logan's or her own.

"What happened before?" Wanda asked curiously, glad for Remy's subject change and his skilled timing. She didn't like the thief, but was still grateful for his intrusion on delicate moments.

"Rogue jus' fell down, all in pain an' den was usin' powers."

Wanda's eyebrows creased. "Powers? I thought you only had one."

"Ah do…well, sorta. Like Ah said before, Ah temporarily absorb tha ability of others when Ah touch them…but Ah'm startin' ta question how 'temporary' that exactly is. Before Ah passed out, Ah used Remy's power an' nearly burned mahself ta death before Ah tapped inta Logan's power, which cured meh."

"How did their powers come back?"

"That's what worries meh, Ah don't know. Mah psyches were fightin' again an' then…"

Remy suddenly looked even more concerned. "Who were de fightin' psyches?"

"It was yours and John…John said some stuff an' ya were defendin' meh when it got physical…it's kinda a blur. Ah think John shot fire at ya then ya yelled an' threw some cards at him. Ah don't remember much after that, tha pain was too much ta concentrate much on ya."

Remy suddenly felt hollow with guilt. It _had _been his fault. "'M sorry, Rogue."

Rogue glanced up from the ground to stare at Remy. He sounded really sincerely concerned. "It's okay, it's not lihke it's your fault. Ya were jus' defendin' meh."

Wanda glanced suspiciously at the two out of the corner of her eye. She didn't particularly like the cocky Cajun, after he had tried to unsuccessfully flirt with her; she was just annoyed at his attempts. To her, he just seemed like the kind of guy that wanted sex. But she had never heard him sound so genuine when he was telling the truth. Was there something between Rogue and Remy?

They arrived back at the mansion and Remy held the door open for them. Rogue hadn't even noticed the walk; it had gone by so quickly. She had never before talked about her mutation so freely and comfortably. Wanda stepped in before her and Rogue followed the older mutant down some steps into a basement she hadn't known the mansion had.

The basement was different from the upstairs. Rogue had a sneaking suspicion that Remy had the place made. In the corner of the large room was poker table and in the middle, under a shady light, was a pool table. Pietro stood alone, poking at the white ball with one of the pool sticks. Rogue unconsciously shifted behind Remy.

Wanda grabbed three more pool sticks and tossed one to both Remy and Rogue. Remy caught his smoothly, but Rogue fumbled with it, almost dropping it in the process. Pietro glanced at them through sharp eyes. "Did I say you could play?"

Wanda passed him coolly and retrieved the triangle. "We didn't ask." With that, she set up the table for a new game. Rogue speculated curiously, Pietro glared at Wanda, but she didn't seem to notice-or care. "Ever play pool before, Rogue?"

"Ah've had some experience." She had only played pool a few times before, but Logan and Remy were naturals at the game. She'd let them guide her.

Pietro snorted. "I'm sure; you play with your kitty friends at the mansion? Maybe even learned to hit the white ball without scraping the table." Obviously, he still held a grudge against her for blowing a chunk of wood into his leg.

"Shut up, Pietro." Wanda finished arranging the balls and removed the triangle, her defense of Rogue was short and curt, almost uncaring, but it made Rogue feel better to think she had semi-friends in this place. Pietro didn't catch the glare Remy sent at him.

"Remy'll break it." Remy eyed the white ball expertly, Pietro stood at the other end of the table, looking skeptical. A small smile quirked the edges of Remy's mouth. He lined up the pool stick and expertly smashed it against the white ball. The pool tip hit the bottom edge of the ball and instead of going forward smoothly; it sprung up from the table and leapt across its short distance. Its progress was only stopped when the white ball smartly smacked down hard upon Pietro's eye.

Pietro let out a girlish scream and clutched his eye. "ARRRRG, YOU SON OF A BITCH!" With a dark glare, he threw his pool stick at Remy, who easily dodged, and retreated up the stairs. Remy snickered and Rogue couldn't help the beginning of a smile appear upon her face. Wanda looked completely uninterested, neither concerned nor amused. Again, Rogue was struck by the relationship between the two siblings; they didn't seem to care at all.

They played a few games of pool, even bet some money. Rogue beat them every game, to which Wanda raised another eyebrow, but Remy appraised her for. By the end of the game, Rogue felt closer to two of her kidnappers than she did to most of her friends back at the mansion.

When Remy threw his arm around her shoulders to steer her back up the stairs for a movie, she didn't resist. If she was being entirely truthful, she might even have admitted to enjoying his boldness. It was safe to say that Rogue was thoroughly enjoying herself; she completely forgot her earlier suspicions about Wanda. Wanda closely watched their antics, but said nothing.

Inside her mind, a very angry Logan went to find a certain cocky Cajun. He was quite enraged and ready to release his anger on the thief.


	7. Caught

Bobby fidgeted nervously; he had always been uncomfortable with silences and this one was perhaps worse than most. Kitty sat directly across from him in a comfortable, puffy chair, but she looked anything but content. When she thought he wasn't looking, her eyes flicked from their stony position on the floor to glance at him. Whenever he gave indication of noticing this, she stiffened and looked away.

Bobby had enough of the silence. "Kitty…"

Kitty stiffened again and her eyes rose from the floor to study his face. She bit her bottom lip as it quivered slightly; Bobby noticed the slight tremble in her fingers. "I haven't even told her…" Kitty's eyes watered. "What kind of friend am I? Bobby, I-" Her voice cracked and a single tear fell from her watery eyes. She turned her gaze back to the ground. "She could be dying. What if the last thing I ever remember of her is-is kissing you?"

Bobby's heart was heavily laden with guilt as well; he stood up from his seat and walked around to Kitty. Her head was still down as he lightly rubbed her back, trying to be reassuring. "She's strong, Kitty. She'll get back and when she does…" He hesitated. "Then we can explain to her. It was just a mistake; we were caught up in the moment. It won't happen again."

Kitty was oblivious to his words of comfort, she knew she was guilty and wouldn't force the blame on the fire of the moment. That night, while she and Bobby were skating, they had kissed-not only that, they had passionately made out and had only stopped when they heard footsteps and came back to their senses. It was more than just a mistake. Even after Bobby had let go of her, she wanted his warmth back. Kitty was ashamed of herself; she had kissed her best friend's boyfriend and wanted it.

"It's all my fault. If she-"

"Kitty, don't talk like that. I was the one who kissed you, it was a simple mistake. When Rogue-"

Kitty stood up, suddenly feeling a surge of unexplainable anger and turned to face him. Bobby's hand dropped from her back and in the back of her mind, she felt a sort of loss. "How can you say that, Bobby? I know Rogue was suspecting something from us, that's probably how she got kidnapped in the first place. She was probably thinking about it while on patrol and not paying enough attention. Do you even feel guilty for what we did?"

Bobby's eyebrows creased, not necessary in anger, but in frowning acknowledgement of the comment. "Of course I feel guilty! I feel like shit, Kitty! I know Rogue's probably out in a lot of trouble somewhere, but I have to believe she's coming back! I have to!" His knees gave out from under him as he was hit with the reality of the situation. "She's all I got-I got to believe it."

Kitty's anger disappeared completely. She kneeled down in front of Bobby and brushed a few tears away. "She'll-She'll be back." Kitty almost choked on the words. "She…she…" Kitty was unconsciously drawing nearer to Bobby; their faces were only inches away. Bobby picked up his head from the drooped position and they were suddenly only centimeters apart. "She'll…be…fine."

The distance was met and their lips locked together in a sensual kiss. Both were lost in the moment; Kitty was reassured by the soft wetness of his lips caressing her own and Bobby felt the need to reassure her, he had to be close to her. Unconsciously, Kitty's hands rose to the back of his head to run through unruly blond hair that she favored so much. In turn, Bobby's own hands traveled around her body to support her in a warm hug. His body's warm flush of heat made Kitty melt further into his arms. The two were almost indistinguishable from where one stopped and the other began, so molded into each other they were.

A door opened somewhere behind them, but they were oblivious to all else besides each other. The person who opened the door glanced their way before clearing her throat loudly.

Reality snapped back into place and Kitty jumped away from Bobby at the same time that he stepped back. Bobby's back was met with the wall to Storm's office and Kitty stumbled backwards to land on the ground in a heap. Wide, glistening blue eyes stared across the ground at guilt-filled brown orbs.

Ororo usually didn't particularly put herself in-between teenage hormones, but she was surprised at what she just witnessed. She knew Kitty was Rogue's best friend and Bobby was Rogue's boyfriend, further yet that were kissing while Rogue was kidnapped and perhaps in danger of her very life. She thought the two had more…character than to do something so private while a loved one's life was on the line. "Kitty, come in my office, please. Bobby, would you round up Piotr and Kurt?"

Kitty shuffled nervously to her feet, her hands were trembling again. Bobby shot her an apologetic, guilty look before turning away to find his comrades. Kitty shifted her weight from foot to foot as she uneasily followed Ororo through the Oakwood doors to her office. Kitty's gaze was glued to the floor; she didn't see the other person in the office. "Miss Monroe, I'm sorry, I didn't-it wasn't what it looked like-"

"Kitty, calm yourself. I'm not going to reprimand you." Kitty glanced up in surprise; at first, she only noticed Ororo. But then the shadow of a person moved in the far corner of the room and Kitty squeaked, it was Betsy. Like a shadow, Betsy crept up behind Ororo and readied to-to-"Storm!" Was the only warning Kitty managed to squeak out before Betsy halted.

Kitty didn't wait for her mind to register what was happening. She jumped from her position into a swinging kick, going right threw Ororo to jab Betsy in the stomach with the powerful force behind her kick. At least, that's how she wanted it to happen; instead, Betsy grabbed her foot in mid-jump and unbalanced her. Kitty tumbled fitfully to the ground and quickly brought her arms up to cover the attack that would surely follow-it never did.

"Get up." The British accent of the purple haired Japanese woman was unusual indeed, but Kitty was used to it. Betsy had been her friend, a long time ago. Slowly, Kitty lowered her arms to glare hatefully at the woman before her. She didn't know what was going on or why Betsy wasn't attacking her, as she had no problem with it _before_, but Betsy had betrayed her-betrayed them all.

"Come back to finish what you started, bitch?"

Betsy gave her a disdainful glare. "I never would have killed you."

Kitty sneered. "But you would have and did kill others. Guess that was okay, 'cause they were just 'humans', huh?"

Betsy's jaw tightened. "I did not join the brotherhood to kill humanity; I don't share that vain viewpoint. Some things have to be sacrificed for others to happen."

"You're not the girl I knew."

"No," Betsy agreed, "I'm not. Personally, I don't think you'd shrug it off, either, if you had to watch your family die while you alone survived because you were mistaken for another from having your consciousness switched into a different body. You never saw your own body grow lifeless or that of your closet loved ones leave this cold world. You don't know what it's like."

"The Betsy I knew never would have killed anybody, no matter what. She's not cold and hollow inside. The Betsy I knew wouldn't have betrayed her friends…her family…for revenge."

"The girl you knew is dead. Reality has already struck me and it will hit you too, sometime. That's just the way life is, nobody's going to stoop to help you when you fall. The sooner you learn that, the sooner you'll accept the world around you for what it is."

Kitty turned her face away to hide the moistness that had gathered in her eyes. "You've become a monster, Betsy." A couple tears rolled down her cheeks to be drowned in the carpeted floor. "You're a monster."

Where, at one time, Betsy would have knelt down and reassured Kitty, told her friend what a friend was meant to be there for, Betsy did not kneel. She would not feed Kitty with lies of pleasantries that didn't exist. The world was harsh; if it made you hollow, then that was only for the better. Feeling nothing was better than feeling sorrow. She had learned that the hard way.

"That's enough, Betsy." Ororo stepped in and held out her hand to Kitty, carefully pulling the stricken girl off the floor. She hated to imagine how Betsy might appear to Kitty, her long ago friend. Betsy had grown cold and hard hearted.

"I'm leaving now."

Ororo turned around swiftly with dark eyes. "Leave? I don't think so, Betsy. You're coming with us."

Betsy's jaw tightened again, this time in annoyance. "I told you, I don't work for Erik. But if I don't return to him, he'll know I've betrayed him and he might even stage an attack to strike out to get Rogue away from Mystique, then you'd have no informant."

Ororo's eyes darkened even more. "Yes, I suppose that's how you planned it. That'd be the perfect setup for you, giving us false information about Rogue to run into one of Magneto's traps. There's no reason that Magneto would even take Rogue."

"To use as leverage against Mystique, of course." Betsy explained shortly, as if that should have been obvious. "Erik is afraid of Mystique above all others. He'd use any advantage he could get."

Kitty glanced at Ororo, confused. "What leverage could Rogue be?"

"I'll explain that to you in a minute." Ororo turned to Betsy and bit down hard on her tongue to bite back another suspicious comment. Instead, she relented. "Alright, Betsy. I don't trust you, keep that in mind. If this lead turns out to be false, we'll be coming back for you. Go to Erik, tell him what you need to, then meet us at the site." Betsy didn't give them any further acknowledgement before turning and sliding out the window she had jumped in through.

Kitty stared at Ororo in bafflement. "What was that all about? What was she talking about, using Rogue as leverage? Why did Mystique even take Rogue?"

Ororo sighed deeply and turned sorrowful brown eyes on Kitty. "Kitty sit down, I'll explain everything when the others get here. Everyone has a right to know this too, as they should for this particular mission."

Kitty nervously shifted positions to the nearest poof chair. Like all the other furniture in the mansion, it was very comfortable and immediately sank in just enough when somebody sat upon it. Kitty was too nervous to enjoy such simple pleasures.

They didn't have to wait long, the timing almost seemed planned. Half a minute after Kitty sat down, there was a _bamf_ and the familiar smell of brimstone temporally choked the occupants of the room. With the blue cloud of smoke came three familiar figures: Kurt, Piotr, and Bobby.

"You vanted to see us, Ororo?"

"Yes, all of you sit. There's some things you need to absorb before going off on this particular mission." When everyone was comfortably seated, Bobby looked at Ororo with longing eyes.

"Did you find her?"

"Yes." A loaded glance was shared with Kitty when their eyes met, Bobby quickly turned away. "But all is not as it seems. I-" Ororo hesitated and shifted her weight nervously, it was the first time Kitty had seen the teacher nervous about anything. "There's…Mystique and Logan are Rogue's parents." Complete silence followed for almost a full minute after the declaration. Then, everybody began talking at once.

"What?!"

"Zat's not possival!"

"How do you-"

"Are you sure…"

Ororo held up a hand and everyone fell silent universally except for Kurt. He was staring at the floor and mumbling, nearly inaudible.

"Ororo, zat's impossival. Zat vould make Rogue my sister…"

Ororo froze, not expecting that. "What?" She had heard him, but she needed time to comprehend the words.

"I never had a sister…not zat I knew of."

Kurt…brother to Rogue? He had to be Mystique's child because he would have said something if Logan was his father. Ororo absorbed this new information with a flinch and took a step back. "Mystique is your mother?"

"Yes." Kurt confirmed, "She left me wiv ze gypsies and later came vack. She tried to adopt me into ze acts against humans. Zat vas ven ze accident happened…I ran away when I vas just a boy and lived in ze church. I never vought…"

Kitty cried out hysterically. "Logan doesn't know we know where she is now! He went to follow John! He's going to try to kill Sabertooth!"

Ororo's smooth demeanor crumpled as her eyes fluttered. "Do you know where he went?"

"At some warehouse, the specifics were in the folder Pyro gave him."

"Pyro's alive?" Ororo's legs buckled from underneath her and she fell into the nearest chair, exhausted at all the new information she had learned that day.

Peter was remaining stoic and unaffected, but that was normal. The boy usually didn't show emotions and he wasn't good friends with Logan or Rogue, and he'd never met Mystique, so it didn't really affect him at all. Beside him, Bobby's mouth was hanging wide and a distant glaze was over his icy eyes. He was absolutely speechless.

--

From the dark corner of the room, a shadow shifted. Almost invisible to detect, a shallow smile crossed his dark face. He turned and slid out the crack in the wall that he had entered to return home. Nobody noticed the gentle shift of his shadowy form or the slight scent of mustiness leave the room.

Carefully making his way back to the base, the grim smile on his lips almost matched the slight, momentary gleam of two eyes, hidden in the shadow's form.

--

Betsy strode into the warehouse without any worry or suspicion about anything. She scanned the warehouse and discovered that Erik was in his room, so she made her way to the middle of the warehouse where he'd be. If she had been concentrating more, or suspicious that she'd been caught, she might have noticed the block out of the other's thoughts. But such nonsense did not occur to her; Betsy was a professional. Professionals didn't worry about getting caught; they were too good for that.

The metal door opened to the sound of her footsteps and she didn't even hesitate before striding confidently into Erik's room. Erik's room was a peculiar one, four metal doors made up the entrances and exits; he had created them himself in case he ever needed an escape to avoid being followed. The walls were all gray steel, so that he could bend them to his will as he wished and almost every furnishing in the room was laced with metal inside. He was a very cautious man, now that he'd been snuffed once he wasn't going to have it happen again. He was never seen without his helmet or metal attire.

Betsy stood at the far wall and looked up to see Erik at the opposite end of the room. She didn't bother to move any closer; she only planned on being there for a minute anyway. Erik didn't glance up at her presence, but he favored her with a "Hmm?"

"They don't know anything. They suspect she's been kidnapped, but that's all."

Erik carefully folded down the corner of the book he was looking through. "Are you quite sure that's all they know?" He didn't wait for her to continue. "Because when a little bird flies into a window, it usually carries a message with it." Betsy's knees locked, he couldn't have known. It was impossible. There was no way he could have figured out. She was the only psychic in Erik's group and she would have detected anyone else if they'd seen.

Betsy took a step forward and immediately the lamp beside her twisted into an impossible shape to wind around her legs from the feet up. She lost her step and crashed to the ground where the lamp continued its snakelike twisting to include her arms in the bind. Betsy struggled against her bonds, but was unable to even make them budge. With her hands bound, she couldn't even wield her best weapon, her psychic sword. Her telepathic powers were useless against Magneto with his helmet.

The binding tightened to a painful squeeze that cut away her breath, but Betsy wouldn't give the satisfaction of him watching her last moments in pain. Betsy rolled into a position that she could see Erik in and for the first time since her family's death, she shrieked in fear as painful memories arose. Standing beside Erik was someone she was all too familiar with. "Shade." Her usually clear cut British accented voice was forced and strained with pain that the binds couldn't cause.

Before her stood the man who had maimed her family completely uncaringly, while she had been forced to watch behind the eyes of someone else. His jet black hair matched his cold, lifeless gray eyes. Clean shaved chin jutted out, perfectly chiseled in a smile that would have been gorgeous if he weren't so cruel. His thin lips curved into a smile that held absolutely no warmth, only morbid pleasure. "Elizabeth. I'm glad to see you again, after slaying my love; I will have some fun with you."

Betsy had gone entirely hollow. The man, who had ruined her life, made her a shell of her old, happy self, who had forced her to take the life of another unwillingly, was right before her. Betsy shut her eyes and focused in on his mind, but before she could do anything that would get her out of the present situation, he flicked into his shadow form and his mind was lost to her.

"I don't think so, 'Betsy'." Betsy's eyes opened and refocused on his form. He was almost impossible to see in the dark shadows of Erik's room. His whole body had shifted into that of a shadowy form that was only tangible when he wanted to be, could be felt, but not pushed away. He was like a ghost, except very much more dangerous. "Magneto?"

Erik had started reading his book again. He barely gave Shade a glance. "Go ahead; the sooner I have the girl as bait, the better."

Shade slithered forward, moving in the eerie way that only an intangible being could. Betsy realized what he was about to do and a small gasp escaped her lips. "No." Shade smiled, an action that was not clearly recognizable in his current form. He moved closer to Betsy again and licked his lips anxiously.

Betsy grew frantic; she struggled against her bonds to the same useless result she had gained before. She bucked and lashed about, anything to draw away from Shade, but she made little to no progress. Shade knelt down and grabbed her chin in his cold, blackly shadowed hands. Her struggles ceased at once as terror filled eyes beheld the nightmare before her.

Shade forced her jaw open and slithered inside. The bonds around Betsy dispersed and returned to their usual form, as Erik's lamp and the world around Betsy melted. She felt his chilled, slimy essence enter her through her mouth and she choked. Bracing herself on all fours, her lungs heaved for breath that didn't come as he invaded her being. Nerve cells screamed out in untold agony as the very synapses in her body reverted control against her. Still being strangled, one hand left the sleek metal floor and made its way to her neck, attempting to wrestle her throat clear to draw breath. Black spots flashed in her vision as his essence flood throughout her entire body. He was an unwanted wave of dark, slimy evil that flushed over her system. He touched the back of her mind as his will extended to her brain. His voice was an echo that reverberated throughout her head as he took control of her very mind. _This is how it felt when your family slaughtered each other…its how you'll feel as you murder the lives of all your loved ones with your own hands._

With that, the transformation was complete. Elizabeth Braddock was a mere voice in the back of her mind in a body that wasn't even her own. Newly black eyes glittered as they turned to Erik, who was patiently sitting in his chair, watching the procession with mild interest. "It's done." The voice was deep and male; no tint of a British accent marked the words.

Erik smiled pleasantly. "Round up everybody. The X-Men are _never_ allowed to become a problem. Make sure that happens." Shade turned to leave, but Erik stopped him before opening the door. "And send out the new girl to fetch Rogue, under no circumstances is Rogue or Mystique allowed to be killed, but assure her that any other necessary actions are fine as long as Rogue is collected."

Shade wrinkled the brow of his newly inhabited body. "Then why did you tell Logan to kill her?"

"Because he won't be able to. It just stirs up complications that work to my advantage. I'd rather have an enraged father and mother pitted against me separately than working together."

Shade shrugged his sleight shoulders, the motion felt very different in the body of the fit Japanese woman. Without another word, he turned and the great metal door creaked open, he swiftly exited to finish his agreement with Magneto. It was a chore he was going to enjoy.


	8. Attacked

_A/N: I'm sorry about both the shortness of the chapter and the extremely late delivery. It's short because, I figure, you'd rather have an update sooner after waiting so long rather than later, I'm sorry._

--------

Raven stepped off the street into the all too familiar black limousine with a sardonic humor. "Do you live in this car?"

Irene ignored Raven's inappropriate humor. "You lied to me, Raven." Mystique remained silent, unresponsive to Irene's accusing tone. The lightness of her mood instantly evaporated. So this was how this talk would go…"You told me you were raising a resistance force."

"It _is _a resistance force. Just not for the reasons you expected."

Irene's blind eyes narrowed. "I'd call it more of a protection force for personal reasons against Magneto and his followers."

Raven still didn't let any emotion show through her voice. "You can call it whatever you like. I'm not starting that again, Irene."

"I'm not the only one you tricked with this scheme. Rogue, Logan, the X-Men, Magneto…they're all fooled. She will find out, Raven."

"It's good that they think I'm planning something. It'll keep them on their toes, away from me. That's what I planned on. And what do you think she's going to do when she finds out what this is all about? It doesn't endanger her in any way."

"Raven, you're being led again. Only this time, it's by your own desire for something you cannot have. Did you even think about his reaction to this? He doesn't even know he's her father yet. Do you honestly think the X-Men will stay out of this and just let it happen?"

Mystique shook her head. "I know they won't. I'm not stupid, Irene. I've planned this all out. I'm done with everything complicated and scheming. I just want to live a simple life."

"With Logan." The words were bile in Irene's throat. They hurt to say, to even think about. She didn't let her emotions show.

"Yes, preferably with the father of my child."

"It will never work, Raven. People like you and me weren't created for the 'simple life' of others. How do you even expect to have his confidence with you? Things are not as they were that long eighteen years ago. He doesn't even remember that time."

"With the help of a psychic, he will."

"Now you're bringing a psychic into it? Psychics all have their own agenda, Raven. Why do you think Xavier never told Logan about his past? He might have returned to it. Even great men like Xavier know when certain things should remain hidden. You should know better, it's not as simple as just bringing back his memory. You know that."

"I do. It will be carefully done. I have been planning this for a long time now, Irene. Don't tell me what to do."

Irene sighed. "I'm not; I'm only advising you how foolish this is."

"And this 'advice' has no personal feelings, does it?"

A flash of anger crossed Irene's face before she quickly wiped it away. "I'd be lying if I said no. You and I both know that. But, even despite our past, I do not think this wise, Raven."

"Don't concern yourself with that. Even if it does not go as planned, I have rights to Rogue. She is my daughter."

"A daughter who thinks you're plotting against her."

"In time, she will come to trust me."

Irene pursed her lips tightly and turned her blind eyes out the wayside window, away from Raven's face. "Am I still welcome at your new home?"

Mystique hesitated. "…Yes, but I don't want you influencing Rogue."

A silent tear, unnoticed by Mystique, dripped down slowly from Irene's cheek. "You speak as if I was a traitor to you, Raven."

Mystique stiffened. "I do not forget things lightly, Irene. I would think that you, of all people, would understand my hesitance."

A memory flashed through Irene's mind of a little boy, an unusual little boy who had all blue skin and only two fingers with a thumb. He was playing outside cheerfully unafraid, swinging on a swing. The memory evaporated. "It was a mistake."

Mystique's tone was icy. "Let us hope then, that you do not make any more 'mistakes' of that kind. You may speak to her, yes. Do whatever you wish, but do _not_ be the cause of another lost child, Irene." Hard, cold eyes glared at the sightless woman. "Or this time, the consequences will be dire indeed. Don't push me that far."

Irene's head sank as it pressed down against the rain-splashed window. "I'll be there tomorrow at five."

The limousine pulled to a stop and the sound of the door opening to freshly falling rain struck Irene harshly. Raven didn't give any other kind of farewell before closing the door and strolling off. As soon as the car started driving again, Irene closed her eyes and wept. Raven was unreachable. Between them, it'd never be the same again.

--------

Rogue collapsed to the ground with a groan at the strain her new schedule was taking on her body. Sure, she knew how to fight and defend herself, but she was being put through the most extraneous workouts that she'd ever done. It was her second day of a true workout and she was exhausted. Eight hours of every day was going to be dedicated to more and more practice; Rogue couldn't imagine what it was all for. All she could focus on was the scorching pain that raced through her body as if she were on fire. Hot sweat dripped from her forehead, almost at the point of flowing, as she lay in the cool grass and heaved in breaths as if air was water.

Wanda stood above her, glancing around at the obstacle course that Rogue had just completed after four hours of before-hand work. Rogue was doing better than Wanda had first expected of the girl, but not nearly as good as she could be. Not as good as Wanda was, but Wanda never expected the girl to be able to outdo her. That was impossible, in Wanda's book. "You're doing pretty well on speed and technique, though a bit sloppy with endurance and aim. We'll need to spend some more time on those; more long-distance sprinting is in order."

"Wanda-" the effort to talk was almost too much, Rogue's throat cried out in protest as a burning sensation ripped through her windpipe. Her voice came out hoarsely ragged. "-can't…Ah jus'…take a break…fohr now."

Wanda frowned and looked down at Rogue, seeming to just notice the girl had collapsed. "You're only in your sixth hour of training. We have to at least get through the seventh today before you're done." Rogue's eyes found hers and gave her a look of incredulity. Wanda jutted out her chin disapprovingly, but Rogue found it a relief when she dropped her progress folder and knelt down beside her. "You're going to have to get used to this, you know."

Rogue was slowly, but steadily regaining her breath. She gave it another minute before she answered, but her voice no longer came out in heaves. "We only practice an hour a day at tha mansion-stayin' extra is optional, but nobody really does-'cept when Logan taught meh. Ah'm jus' not used ta such a perpetual workout. After five hours this yestaday with Remy an' six hours with ya taday-Ah'm exhausted."

"They don't train you at all at your mansion."

"Excuse meh fohr not learnin' ta fight all mah life. Some people weren't born with their mutations."

Wanda cast an accusatory eye on Rogue. "You wouldn't be complaining this much if Remy was out here." That wasn't true! Well…maybe a little bit. It was just, when Remy was around her; she felt a need to almost…prove herself to him. Over the short period of time since the start of her kidnapping, they had become friends, much like her and Wanda. She liked hearing his voice, and although he annoyed the hell out of her, she did enjoy his company. He was her friend, but nothing more. As a matter of fact, where did Wanda get the idea of her and Remy? Rogue wasn't interested in Remy like that. Most of the time, she was ticked off and moody around him.

"What's that supposed ta mean?" Rogue challenged defensively, a little disturbed that Wanda would infer something about her and Remy.

"You know what that means." Wanda gave her a steady look. "Don't tell me you're not falling for Remy. It's blatantly obvious, especially when you're around him."

"What?!" Rogue sputtered, she considered Remy a friend, and maybe she even enjoyed their kiss, but in no way would she ever picture her and Remy like that. Remy was a player, plain and simple. He slept with loose women, gambled, smoked, and drank. She did not think of him as more. "That's utterly ridiculous! Ah do not lihke Remy lihke that!"

Wanda raised an eyebrow again, giving that perfect look of skepticism that only she could accomplish. "That so?"

"Yeah, that's so! We're only friends!"

"You seem to be getting awfully upset about it, being not true and all. Don't think I can't see the gleam in your eyes when he's around, Rogue. You're infatuated with him."

Rogue's jaw dropped. "Wha?-That's-That's- What are ya, mah mother? Ah don't have ta justify mahself ta ya. Ah am not infatuated with Remy LeBeau, that's that. Ah don't even lihke him most of the tahme!"

"Y' mus' not be talkin' about dis sexy Cajun." Remy dropped down in-between the two ladies from somewhere above. "'Cause all de _filles_ are always racin' t' him."

Rogue turned scarlet. "Where in tha world do ya keep comin' from? Ah swear, if Ah judged ya any less, Ah'd consider that ya are stalkin' meh."

Remy grinned. "Who says he's not?"

"How much did ya hear?"

"Remy was here for a few hours."

Rogue sighed. "Great. Just perfect. Ah-" The words were caught in her throat as something hard smashed into her. Her backward motion progress was only stopped when her back collided solidly with one of the steel-enforced walls of the mansion behind her. The weight that had slammed into her front was temporally alleviated and, without its support, Rogue collapsed on the ground, raggedly drawing in air as if she were dying. Fire roared up and down her back and her stomach protested to every new breath. Placing a hand against her stomach, Rogue panicked as she didn't feel all her ribs. Some must have broken.

She tried to get up, but the strain was too much. Neither her back or ribs would allow such an action. She could already feel Logan's enhanced healing begin to take effect, but it only made her dizzy and didn't help at all with the pain. Rogue lifted her face from the ground to see what was happening.

The thing that had smashed into happened to be a girl. Long blond hair fell messily around her face, it was windblown and tangled. She was about the same height and age as Rogue. She would have been pretty if it weren't for her ragged appearance. Dirt smeared across her body and found its way into her hair; her clothes were ripped and unwashed. It looked as if she'd been rolling in mud. Glistening blue eyes checked over her shoulder.

It was only then that Rogue noticed how far she had traveled from her original destination. She couldn't even see Remy or Wanda, but she suspected they'd show up soon enough. The girl had to be a mutant, there was no other way she could have hurtled Rogue so far without super strength.

The girl turned back to her and Rogue swallowed. Without a word, the girl grabbed one of Rogue's covered arms and pulled her away from the wall. Rogue squeaked in protest as her tired body limply fell, refusing to obey her commands. The girl picked her up entirely and held her horizontally in her arms, as if Rogue weighed no more than a feather. "No!" The effort to talk was too much; it only scorched Rogue's quickly-repairing insides.

Remy and Wanda showed up in the distance, but they were going to be far too late. The girl's feet cleanly lifted off the ground, she was flying! And Rogue was trapped in her tight grip.

_Logan, Remy, somebody help!_

The wall of the mansion, that was rapidly disappearing the higher they went, ripped off its foundation. _Rogue, control the metal!_ Magneto was the one to help her? Rogue had only a second to reflect on the irony.

_Ah don't know how!_

_CONCENTRATE! Bring the metal to you!_

Rogue closed her eyes and tried to envision the wall coming skyward. _Watch what you're doing, child!_ Rogue opened her eyes to see the metal-enforced wall flying upwards rapidly, faster than the girl was flying. The girl noticed too.

"Stop." Rogue didn't respond and the mansion wall continued to fly upward. With her hands otherwise occupied, the girl used what she could to stop Rogue. She smashed her head into Rogue's with skull-crushing force. A loud crack resounded and Rogue fell unconscious in the girl's arms. The sheet metal wall that had previously been under Rogue's control began to fall.

_Shit!_ Logan cussed openly. Logan couldn't do anything in this situation besides help Rogue's broken body heal. His claws were continuously flicking in and out, exercising his ability in her unconscious form so that her body would absorb the ability and use it while she was out, but he didn't know what else to do. His power was to heal, it couldn't do anything more in this situation. _Magneto, can't you do anything?_

Magneto's psyche started to fade. His words resounded as his psyche form completely disappeared. _Do not be alarmed. I will release control back to her as soon as she's safe._ Logan didn't know what he meant, but he found out only moments later.

Rogue's eyes opened again, but this time, they were steel gray, almost shining to a blazing blue instead of their normal green.

The girl holding Rogue blinked in surprise. Rogue shouldn't have been able to wake up from that for at least a few hours. Yet, there she was, wide awake…and angry. Before the blond girl could fully register the impossibility of Rogue awaking, a full sheet of metal encompassed her form and pulled her away from Rogue.

Rogue began to freefall as the girl wildly punched the metal encasing that had come out of thin air and surrounded her. Erik, who was currently in control of Rogue's unconscious body, was shocked to see the girl's fist protrude from the metal. She was tearing it apart right there. He knit it back together with Rogue's newfound ability, but knew it wouldn't hold her long. It didn't matter. He just needed to reach the ground again.

Using his unique ability in Rogue's body, he ripped off some more metal from the mansion and wrapped it around Rogue's midsection. From there, he slowed her falling rate and, after a few minutes, landed her safely on the ground.

Remy and Wanda were waiting there, staring at Rogue in shock. Erik turned Rogue's head and his eyes fell upon Wanda. "Wanda."

Wanda didn't seem to notice Rogue's eyes. "Rogue…how did you-what happened? Are you alright?" Wanda ran up and hugged her. Erik felt a spike of pain that had nothing to do with Rogue's injuries. How could he have alienated his daughter so much that she'd betray him so? That he'd never feel her hug him again by her own choice unless she didn't know what she was doing. That she'd join Mystique to spite him…

Remy, however, noticed the difference. "_Chere, _y' eyes!"

Erik knew it was the time to go back into Rogue's brain where he was merely a psyche, a watcher…but he didn't want to go. He didn't want to leave Wanda there.

Wanda released him and stepped back to see what Remy was talking about. She frowned. "Rogue?"

Erik moved forward, so that he and Wanda were only inches apart. With a gloved, delicate hand, he brushed aside a stray lock of auburn hair. "You're so beautiful…I'm sorry."

Wanda's eyes widened and she stepped back. "Erik?" The word was whispered with venomous hatred, dripping with hurt.

Erik didn't want the moment to end, but he knew Wanda would not appreciate his presence, especially in the body of her friend. He didn't want to hear her scream and cry at him. His heart had already been broken too much.

With that, Erik let his consciousness die down to the psyche in his mind that he was. Rogue's body collapsed to the ground in a heap as his presence left. Remy rushed forward to help Rogue back inside the mansion, which was in serious need of repair. Wanda couldn't move. She stared at Rogue's unconscious form in horror, reliving the nightmare over and over in her mind.

--------

She would have stood there staring at nothing while reliving the horror for a long time, if she was granted that freedom. But, as fate would have it, she wasn't. The girl that had attacked Rogue came hurtling down from the sky, aimed straight for Remy's back. Remy barely dodged out of the way before she hurtled into the ground at high speed. It ripped the terrain apart, forming a huge hole that went at least nine feet deep.

The girl turned around to come up again, but Wanda was too quick for her. Thinking fast, Wanda called upon her magic. Dirt covered the hole as land stretched out over the top to encompass the girl. Someone of the strength to form a nine foot deep hole would be able to climb out though, but Wanda didn't plan on letting her. She recovered the ground above the girl with more and more layers of earth, successfully burying her under hundreds of layers. Wanda didn't need to be a genius to guess that the girl couldn't survive without air. She wasn't worried about killing the girl, that'd just be an unfortunate accident, but she wanted to make sure the girl wasn't going to escape.

Wanda's special attention was not disappointed. Ten minutes later, when the girl had yet to resurface, Wanda removed the layers and fished out the girl. She wasn't dead, she had a soft pulse, but it was there. Wanda motioned Remy over.

"She needs air."

Remy handed Rogue's limp form to Wanda and began the step process of CPR.

Wanda studied Rogue's relaxed features. Rogue had been put through too much, Wanda felt a little sorry for her. She hadn't known that the other 'psyches' in Rogue's mind could actually take control of her body. She was betting that Rogue hadn't known either. The fact was pretty disturbing; Wanda didn't want to think about it. Her mind was preoccupied by Erik. She had hugged him. Unknowingly, yes, but hugged him all the same. And he had apologized. That fact irked her more than anything. He was sorry…he didn't even know the meaning of the word. Erik was never one for mercy, she was no exception.

"She's breathing now." Remy drew her out of her thoughts. Wanda looked at him and nodded.

"Lock her up downstairs, and don't hesitate with the restraints."

Remy nodded and left. Wanda carried Rogue's frail form inside to her own room and laid her down on the bed. She stared at Rogue for a long time before wiping away the single tear that had fallen. She was sure of only one thing, Erik was a liar.


	9. Destiny

_A/N: Fast update because the other one took so long and it was too short. Enjoy._

Logan's eyes narrowed as he spotted his target. He had followed the directions in the packet that Magneto had been so kind to give him and found the military base without difficulty.

Victor Creed, otherwise known as Sabertooth, leaned off an impressive set of computer technology. He didn't appear to be doing anything, but Logan would bet that Sabertooth had done something to those computers.

Sabertooth's drumming claws abruptly stopped and, unseen by Logan, who was looking at the back of his head, he smiled. "About time, runt."

Logan jumped down from the loft he had been hiding in. His intention was to smash into Sabertooth's back, but Sabertooth was too fast for that. He moved swiftly, completely avoiding Logan's attack. Logan expected him to lash out with his feet to unbalance him, and he was not disappointed. Sabertooth struck low, lashing out with an impressive, wide sweep kick.

Logan had expected it. He jumped up at just the right second, so close that the hairs of Sabertooth's leg brushed against Logan's. Logan further continued the jump into a spring at Sabertooth's chest. Sabertooth pivoted so fast and brashly that Logan was swung around to hit the wall behind him.

Sabertooth grinned, exposing rows of shaper-than-normal teeth. "She whimpered like a useless, pathetic bitch when we took her down." A low growl escaped Logan's lips as the fury rose in his throat. He let the animalist anger take over him, to the point that he could no longer be considered humane. He went mad with a desire to hurt Sabertooth, to kill the stupid son-of-a-bitch that had kidnapped his Rogue. Blind fury took over as Logan became Wolverine.

Wolverine jumped to his feet and lunged at Sabertooth at the same time Sabertooth leaped at him. They collided in midair, Wolverine's claws sliced through Sabertooth's shoulders as Sabertooth's elongated nails cut through his arm to stop jerkily when they hit the adamantium skeleton covering his bones. Sabertooth jerked his arm across Wolverine's chest. Shallow claw marks bled profusely where he struck.

Wolverine growled menacingly and brought his knee up to Sabertooth's groin. Sabertooth grunted in pain as he took a step back, which ultimately ripped Wolverine's claws from his shoulders. Wolverine pressed his advantage; rearing back his right fist, he drove his arm down fast and solidly into Sabertooth's heart and quickly brought about his other fist to deeply plunge into Sabertooth's abdomen.

Sabertooth's howl wasn't even remotely human. He bashed his head downward, in order to collide into Wolverine's adamantium skull, but Wolverine was quicker. Wolverine ducked out of the way so that Sabertooth's head crashed into his shoulder instead. He removed the set of claws from Sabertooth's stomach and aimed for his exposed throat.

Sabertooth barely evaded the attack and the claws scraped the outer layer of skin off his neck. Sabertooth had had enough. He grabbed Wolverine in a bear hug, which pressed Wolverine's claws deeper into his heart, and pierced his back with both hands.

At merely a glance, it almost looked as if they were hugging. Wolverine's metal-encased skeleton prevented Sabertooth's claws from digging through his heart, but Sabertooth wasn't so lucky. Three claws had been pushed so far into Sabertooth's heart that a good inch of the edges came out. Sabertooth's eyes found Wolverine's bloodshot ones and the gaze was held for a steady second.

_I WANNA HEAL, I WANNA FEEL LIKE I'M CLOSE TO SOMETHING REAL, I WANNA FIND SOMETHING I'VE WANTED ALL ALONG…SOMEWHERE I BELONG!_

Wolverine was surprised by the sudden screaming music that blared from the cell phone on Sabertooth's belt. He jumped back in a moment of confusion. Sabertooth's claws tore his skin sideways as they scraped away. Sabertooth took advantage of Logan's surprise and did something Wolverine would never have expected of his most hated enemy. Sabertooth turned and fled.

"BASTARD!" Logan waited a good ten minutes then gave chase. He couldn't let on that he was following, otherwise Sabertooth wouldn't return to his base. He'd have to follow secretly. That was fine with Logan; tracing Sabertooth's bloody scent wouldn't be a problem. He would know the smell of scum anywhere.

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"Fetch our guest, would you?"

The limo driver blinked. "Isn't this helping her? Isn't this bringing you away from your goals?"

"It has to look like I'm being cooperative, at least, for the time being. I will take control of the situation later, when the trust is firmer. My plans can not go into action right now, it's just better to obey Raven's wishes for now. Besides, I do not think that this idea of hers will help at all. It's just another one of Raven's crazed plans she's obtained from the sky of her fantasies. She is an easily led person, that is her weakness. If anything, it will pull mother and father farther apart, bringing me closer to my plans." A delicate hand adjusted a dark pair of shades that gently had slipped down slightly.

"What of the child? What are you planning to do with her?"

"For now? I will do nothing. She can't get in the way at all; in fact, I might start the process. She will be persuaded; she's too young and foolish to do any differently. The girl has a path that is much bigger than any of us could have thought. I've seen it. Rogue will be great, the most powerful being to grace this planet. She will just need a little shove in the right direction. She could be the one to free us all, which, of course, is the agreement."

"If I had known you any littler, I might have thought that you, too, shared my goals."

The passenger sighed deeply. "I want nothing more than what is mine. Raven will come back to me, but she needs to see sense first. If mutant supremacy happens to come along with it, so be it. I care of nothing but her."

The driver shook her head testily. "Do you want my mutant now? The girl is still unconscious from Carol's attack; it would not be hard to improve the psyche's strength while she is in such a fragile time of healing."

Thin lips pursed. "Tell me exactly what it is this mutant of yours will do? Remember, she is your link to your future, not mine. If your lackey screws up, I will take no blame for her incident."

The other reassured her, with a hint of anger at the thought. "I know my clan's abilities." The anger passed as she went on to explain. "Memo's ability is merely to bring back memories and suggestively hint. In the girl's case, she will be able to run through the psyches and bring our particular one up. The desire to confirm it will strengthen and she won't be able to stop herself from there. After that, all will fade back down. Better yet, the girl will be very confused as to who she even is. It will be even easier to direct her than we previously thought."

The driver was favored with a nod from the blind woman. "Good."

"It's miraculous how these pieces fit together, is it not? The girl's ability, her past, Carol Danvers, of all people, coming back at a time such as this? She's out of the X-Men's protection zone and under a delusional mother. If I believed in such nonsense, I might call it fate."

Irene shook her head negatively. "Not fate. Destiny."

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It was an empty, open field with a distant forest a hundred feet away.

"She betrayed us again! The liar! Ororo-" Ororo silenced Kitty with a frantic wave of her hand. Something wasn't right...the wind was shifting in patterns that only followed human beings when they moved through an area.

Suddenly, Storm was distracted by the squeal of tires traveling from gravel to grass. Ororo had barely a second to react; the car grazed the bottom of her shoes as her feet lifted off the ground. Kitty grabbed Bobby in a tight hug and phased through the car while Kurt teleported out of the way. Piotr took the brunt of it, but he was already steeled over and the edge of the car just knocked him a little out of the way.

Before the X-Men could recover from the incident, a new group of people had joined their procession. A very familiar fire-playing smart ass stood beside a huge man; at least seven feet tall, covered in a heavy red armor suit that even included a psychic blocking helmet. Kitty was the only one to recognize him as Juggernaut. Behind both of them, a purple haired Japanese acquaintance appeared in the middle of the group. Kitty opened her mouth to yell obscenities at the woman, but her breath caught in her throat as the head of Betsy Braddock turned toward the ground. Entirely black eyes stared cruelly out of sockets that did not originally contain such darkness.

Betsy was the first one to break the silence that had followed. "So these are your friends. Well, well, this should be fun." No British accent tainted the Japanese woman's speech; her voice was low and husky. She, or whatever she had become, didn't appear to be talking to anyone other than herself. Betsy's black gaze narrowed in on Ororo. "We'll start with the women."

Bobby detangled himself from Kitty and went for Pyro.

Pyro stood tall, Mr. High and Mighty, almost appearing to tower over Bobby, even though they were about the same height. Bobby completely iced over, it was a trick he learned he could do. It was a shield of ice, his protection and his trademark. Pyro smiled at him. "Been practicing your tricks Bobby boy?" Bobby kept his eyes trained on Pyro while circling him; Pyro's eyes never wavered from his own. "You're going to need 'em. 'Cause I've learned a few myself." With that, the small fire in Pyro's palm grew. A wave of heat hit Bobby as the flame spread over his skin, like an infesting disease, crawling up his arms and across his chest so spread all the way down to his bare feet. Pyro's cloths caught fire and withered in the blaze, but he alone was unaffected.

"Only my friends call me Bobby. To you, it's Iceman." Iceman shot a stream of ice at Pyro's feet, intending to keep it there just long enough so that he would slip and fall. Iceman's ice melted a good foot away from Pyro's blazing form. Pyro's smile was barely detectable under the fire lashing blaze.

"Not going to work anymore." Pyro built up strength in the fireball he currently held in his hand. Iceman couldn't see it because Pyro was entirely a blaze, and his fireball looked no different than himself. What had once been used to impress a new girl that Iceman had gained was now becoming a weapon to fry his long-ago best friend. Pyro launched the fireball forward, making the flame extend all the way back, just for show.

Iceman hadn't seen the attack coming and didn't get out of the way in time. The fireball burned right through his icy armor and singed the fine hairs on his arm underneath. Iceman immediately iced the area over again and re-coated himself twice in the slippery glaze.

Ice blasts weren't going to hurt Pyro. He was too hot for that, Iceman would have to strike him close. Holding his hands under him, Iceman iced a pathway slide and began to advance towards Pyro. Pyro lit up the grass in front of Iceman, but Iceman merely directed the slide away and slightly off the ground of his fire. Pyro followed Iceman's progress, but he was just one step behind. The trial behind Iceman melted into water that sloshed the ground, but Iceman managed to stay in front of Pyro's blaze. He was getting closer too at a rapid rate. At five feet away, Iceman could feel his ice melting, but he dared to go closer and quickly began re-sheeting himself. With barely a flimsy flap of a shield left, even with continual repairs, Iceman's fist struck Pyro's chest and the ice he had directed to cover his body now was directed to cover Pyro. Pyro fell back into the soggy ground against the pressure. Water turned to vapor and rose as grass withered at his presence.

Iceman's shield, without its continual repair, shrank to a puddle and his skin began to redden, but he wouldn't give up. Not now. Iceman formed condensed ice from the puddles around him and he was gaining progress. The fire around Pyro's chest and arms dwindled, he was winning. Confidently, he pushed his limits further than ever before and forced even the vapor in the air to condense. Pyro's chest went out and covered in ice, Iceman pushed to spread that down and he'd have won—Pyro, enraged, alighted in a new blaze of fury and Iceman's ice melted as if it had never been a problem. Pyro rose back to his feet and shot a weak fireball that nailed Iceman in the stomach. Iceman coughed and fell back as blisters sprung up on his abdomen. Pyro loomed above him. "You were never good enough for her. You stole Rogue away from me and you used her as if she were nothing more than your dog. You don't do that to people, _Iceman_. I'm ashamed to have ever considered you a friend." Pyro's fist rose, blazing in fire, temporarily blinding Iceman as he swung back to strike Bobby in the final blow.

The fiery death never came. A dark cloud appeared over Pyro's head and doused him completely. A hard fist connected with Iceman's head as Pyro was extinguished. Bobby rolled over and pinned John to the ground. He layered his lighter with a sheet of ice, then tossed it aside. John and Bobby stared at each other for the rest of the fight. Brothers had become enemies, but now, as they watched each other with unblinking eyes, nothing mattered.

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Colossus shook off the car hit and stood up—to be knocked down again by an overly-large, protectively gloved hand. He flew back several feet and came to an abrupt, bouncing halt upon hitting the ground. The red-clad giant reeled back, preparing to charge at Colossus and perhaps trample him.

Nightcrawler's familiar brimstone smoke puffed as he landed on Juggernaut's shoulders. Juggernaut didn't even seem to notice the added weight, until Nightcrawler started unbuckling his helmet. He got one undone before Juggernaut swiped at him furiously and he teleported away. Storm floated over, and in-between Nightcrawler's teleportation, she fired a lightning bolt aimed between Juggernaut's shoulders.

The lightning bolt had no affect. Nightcrawler appeared in the air again to unlock another helmet strap, and teleported out of the way again before Juggernaut could grab a hold of him. With two straps undone already, Juggernaut was enraged. When Nightcrawler appeared yet another time, he was ready for him.

Juggernaut swiped Nightcrawler right out of the air by his tail and swung him hard before he could think to teleport away with him. Nightcrawler's back arched as he flew through the air, towards the trees and a blue cloud of smoke engulfed him again before he could fall.

Colossus found his footing again and charged at Juggernaut. It was like hitting a steel wall, only, a stronger steel wall than his own. He rebounded back and only just missed Juggernaut's fist as it followed through against his attack. Colossus grabbed one of Juggernaut's oversized arms in both hands and attempted to flip him over his shoulder.

The move proved less than useless. Juggernaut was much too heavy for Colossus to lift. Juggernaut grabbed one of Colossus's arms with only using one of his hands and cleanly lifted Colossus off the ground.

There was another _bamf_ as Nightcrawler teleported himself on the other side of Juggernaut's helmet and unlatched the hatch. Juggernaut slammed his free arm back and was rewarded with a resounding thud as Nightcrawler hit the ground. Juggernaut lifted his massive foot to step on Nightcrawler, but Nightcrawler wasn't so out of the game that he would avoid seeing a foot that was about to crush him. At the last second, he teleported out from the position.

Colossus had a whole ten seconds to reach forward and undo the last strap on Juggernaut's helmet. When Juggernaut attempted to crush Nightcrawler under his foot, Juggernaut's attention refocused on Colossus and he head-bashed the metal man. Colossus's metal protected him from most of the damage, but surprisingly, the strike had still hurt and resounded through his armor. Juggernaut whirled around once and released Colossus, who flew back far, without a teleporting ability, he had no way to stop the collision against the far tree. He felt his back slam against the hard metal core that was his only protection before he crumpled to the ground at the base of the tree.

Storm flew in and, with a gust of strong wind; she blew off Juggernaut's helmet. Without that protection, he was susceptible to her lightning strikes. Storm built up power in the sky and, before Juggernaut could swipe at her, she struck out with a powerful, electrically boosted lightning bolt.

The bolt hit Juggernaut in the head and he howled, falling to his knees. Storm's eyes whitened again as she prepared another blow, but her progress was interrupted. Juggernaut picked up his fallen helmet and chucked it at her with all the force he could muster. The helmet hit Storm in the stomach and she fell to the water-soaked mushy ground with a squishy noise. Juggernaut turned, and ran.

--------

Shade's gaze shifted from Storm and he sprung at Kitty. Kitty didn't have enough time to jump out the way before Shade advanced. Shade should have just slipped through her, because Kitty's natural state was matterless; instead Shade crashed down on Kitty and pinned her underneath him. Shade's knees pinned down Kitty's arms as he sat on her abdomen and grabbed her throat with both hands.

Kitty started to panic. She didn't know why her power wasn't working and she was rapidly losing air. Black spots danced in front of her vision. Kitty bucked, but it wasn't enough to sway him. Kitty tried to wriggle out from underneath him, but it wasn't working and she was quickly losing strength as her limbs began to succumb to the pressure at her throat.

Kitty bucked and threw her legs up at an angle, wrapping them around Betsy's chest. If Shade had been in his true form, he would have been able to throw off the girl without any trouble. But Betsy's form did come with its limitations, and her strength was far less than his own. Kitty latched her legs together and moved them further up so that they pressed hard into his throat. Shade let go of Kitty's throat in a struggle to maintain his own advantage.

Kitty, although she didn't know why her powers weren't working, had other skills than just avoiding. With sweat beading down from her temples, Kitty pushed back with her legs and launched Shade off of her.

Shade fell haphazardly back and to the side. Kitty jumped to her feet before he could wrestle her down again and kicked him hard in the face. Shade's head snapped back on his head, he could already feel his chin start to swell, as another kick followed to the stomach. Shade grimaced and rolled over, where another kick followed, hitting his back. Closing his eyes, he concentrated.

Using Betsy's power, he telepathy shocked Kitty's mind with a bolt. Kitty screamed as she grabbed her head and fell to her knees in pain; her mind numbed over the jolt. That left plenty of time for Shade to regain his footing. Kitty was still cradling her head when he pulled back his fist to—someone grabbed his arm, stopping his progress, and the next thing he knew, Shade was experiencing one of the worst feelings of his life. It was as if his stomach revolted against him, spewing out and throbbing his insides. The world around him spun so fast that it faded to a blur and he had to close his eyes to keep from being dizzy. His very being roared in protest to the body-ripping sensation of all his insides about to burst. It was all over in a second, but it felt like an eternity.

When the world did come back into focus around him, the grip on his shirt let go as Shade fell to his knees in the damp grass and vomited. There was squeal somewhere above him as a car door opened, ultimately smacking Nightcrawler in the head. "Get in!" Shade glanced back at the scene behind him, his eyes fell on Kitty.

"This isn't over!" Shade stepped into the car and the door slammed behind him. In the driver's seat, a very pissed off mutant glanced back at him.

"Could you make any more commotion while you were at it? Start a fight with the X-Men-that's the last thing we need at such a key moment as this."

Shade didn't respond for a minute. He was busily slithering out of Betsy's mouth and forming a puddle of himself in his form on the ground. Betsy was just too beaten; it hurt to be in her body. When Shade invaded another's body, he took complete and total control of every system. That included the nervous system, which meant he felt their pain. He gathered all of his shadowy remnants before materializing by triggering his condensing mutation. He shook his head like a dog and shivered before turning to the driver. "It doesn't really matter. They'll be after us anyway when we take the girl. Besides, I had to make a convincing show for Magneto."

The driver grunted. "Showing for Magneto doesn't mean you had to bring them in any sooner than necessary. Now they'll be on our backs about it, looking for both Betsy and Rogue."

Shade shrugged her off. "They don't know who we are, yet. They don't have a psychic to look for us. They won't find us for a good, long time."

"The plans have changed slightly. I do not think you will be returning to Magneto." Shade didn't respond.

The driver didn't give him any other command, so Shade turned to his unconscious companion next to him. Betsy was splayed out over the seat, limp and useless, for the time being. Her gorgeous features were marred by an unhealthy color and newly forming bruises. Shade traced the side of her cheek, where a blackish blue bump set off from Kitty's beating. Betsy did not even stir, so harsh was Shade's invasion of her body, to use her as a tool. Shade longed to hear the voice of his lover, not the bold British accent of an Englishwoman. But it was better this way, while she was unconscious, he would not be constantly reminded of the tragedy that had befallen him.

Shade leaned over Betsy's chest and pressed his lips against hers, only for a second, imaging that things were different. The driver noticed his actions and her jaw set tightly. "Stop it, Shade. You may have your revenge when we are finished and free, or at least, until her use is done. You've done enough for now, finish later." Shade pulled away from Betsy's pale face and gently touched her lips with the tip of his fingers.

With his other hand, he closed up the limo's opening to the back. The driver had turned back to the road and did not notice his hidden actions.

"I'll always be within you." With that, Shade turned shadowy again. But he did not pour himself into Betsy a second time. A small, liquidy black section broke off of him and inched back into Betsy. In another blink of the eye, he was fully condensed again. A small smile graced his sinister features. "Just wait, my love. You will come crawling back to me." The black goop lay heavily in Betsy, splayed over the rib cage area that protected her heart. It was dormant for now, waiting for its time.


	10. Betrayal

Unnoticed, a dark figure slipped in through the ripped off wall that had yet to be even mentioned to Mystique. She slipped down the upstairs hallways, checking each room as she went. She was searching, searching for a girl. It wasn't long until she found her goal.

Gently tucked in on a large bed was the object of her search. Her eyes scanned the room and found another woman on the other side, sleeping upright against the wall. Memo quietly stepped up to Rogue's bed and began her work.

It was a time taking process, but a silent one at that, and Memo knew Rogue would not wake during it. Memo's eyes shut as she slipped past the blockades and edges, into the mystery of Rogue's mind. She found what she was looking for immediately. Waves emitted from her hands to gently scrape Rogue's head before disappearing all together.

An hour later, the process was complete. Memo opened her eyes and watched Rogue stir slightly on the bed. The girl must have felt something change, that was only natural. Memo left the bed side and exited the way she came. A series of events were set into play in that moment, the events could not be changed. From there on out, destiny would take hold.

--------

"_Ah can't believe it! Do ya know what she did ta David? Do ya? He's in a coma becausa her! How can ya stand there defendin' that-that mutant!" _

_Carol flinched, an action that went unnoticed by Secon. "Secon, that's not being fair. I don't think she meant to do it. A lot of mutants have trouble with their powers when they first come, I did, remember?" Secon shot her a warning glance that was full of unreasonable anger._

"_Don't ya eva mention that again! What did Ah tell ya about that? Ya don't want anyone ta hear ya say something lihke that. Keep it down. Jesus, Carol. Ah thought ya had more sense. Your…problem is different. We don't know how ya got the way ya are, bad parents Ah suppose, but its jus' different. We adopted ya ta get ya away from your kind. But Marie…Ah can't believe it. He's in tha hospital Carol! In a coma!"_

"_Yeah, but-"_

_Secon cut her off. "There's no 'but' about this situation, Carol. She nearly killed him."_

"_But-"_

_Secon waved her off angrily. "No, Carol. Just stop. Ah'm going ta show that bitch what's what. She's not welcome in this community. Her kind isn't welcome here. Ah'll get tha boys, we'll show her."_

_Tears had started to form in Carol's eyes. Did Secon even think about what he was saying? "Secon, you…you reject me so? Do you hate me so much?"_

_Secon's eyes landed on her again and softened. He encompassed her in a hug. "No, no, of course not, Carol. Ah love ya, your mah only sista an' ya mean tha world ta meh. But these others…they're jus' different Carol. Ya are too young ta understand this, but ya'll see someday. We took ya away from it all so ya could grow up decent, be taught good morals, obey tha law. These others…they're not lihke ya Carol. They're jus' not lihke ya."_

_Carol sobbed into Secon's shirt. Secon patted her on the back reassuringly for a time, then excused himself to bed, to get ready for the next morning. Carol wiped away her tears and stared out the window, picturing Marie. She was sure the girl couldn't have done it on purpose. Marie wasn't like that; she and David had been friends for as long as Carol had known them. Marie wouldn't purposely hurt David._

_Carol had decided. She would warn her. It wasn't that Marie was particularly her friend, Carol had only seen the girl a few times before, on the occasion that David brought her over. She seemed like a nice girl yeah, but Carol never had really gotten to be friends with her. But this was different. Marie had to be warned. Carol believed in the good in her brother, but he was simple minded. He wouldn't stop once he got started on something._

_Carol glanced up the steps to see that Secon was busy calling his boys. She left through the backdoor and traced the way to Marie's house. The town was small. Everybody knew where everyone else lived, no matter if you didn't really know the person._

_Carol went to the front door and raised her fist to knock, but hesitated at the last second. Would Marie's parents let her see anyone? Probably not. Carol walked around the back of the house. Carol glanced around her to make sure that no one was around, and then she flew up to Marie's window. Once she reached the window, she grabbed the sill so it looked as if the sill was the thing holding her up. _

_Carol peered through the window curiously. Marie was on her bed, face buried in the covers. Was she crying? Carol knocked on the window twice._

_Marie's head shot up and her green eyes met Carol's blue ones. She wiped her eyes on her sleeve and went to the window. Popping the window open, she gasped. "Carol? Wha?" She seemed to notice Carol was holding on to the sill, her only support. "Hold on!" Marie ran over to her dresser and pulled out a pair of long sleeved, opera gloves. After hurriedly pulling them on, she rushed back to the window sill and helped Carol up. Marie turned her gaze to the floor and distanced herself from Carol. "Whaddya doin' here?" She didn't wait for a response. "Ah woulda thought that everybody's heard by now. Is that what ya are here fohr?" She hugged herself tightly and turned away from Carol, ashamed._

"_Yeah, everybody knows. But that's not why I'm here; I'm here to warn you."_

_Marie shifted her weight from one foot to the other and turned to face Carol. "Whaddya mean?"_

_Carol swallowed thickly. "I tried to talk him out of it…I'm sorry, Marie, but Secon doesn't take well to mutants and neither does many of his friends. He's gunna gather a group together and corner you tomorrow."_

_Marie's gaze returned to the floor as she sat down heavily on the bed. There was a long, uncomfortable silence until Marie softly spoke. "What should Ah do?" She bit her bottom lip and tears came to her eyes. "Mama hasn't even looked at meh since, an' pah's infuriated…Gracie won't talk ta meh." Rogue's watery eyes rose to stare at Carol. "Ah don' know what ta do anymore."_

"_Marie…"_

"_Maybe Ah should jus' leave."_

"_Running's not an answer, Marie. Just make sure that you always have someone around or something. You'll be ok."_

"_Nobody wants ta be around meh anymore."_

_Carol shot a glance at the window and sighed deeply. "I have to go for now…tell you what. I'll stop by in the morning and walk to school with you. Secon won't try anything if I'm around."_

_Glistening green eyes looked at Carol in a sad, soft way. "Ya…ya'd do that?"_

"_Sure. Our kind need to stick together." With that, Carol jumped out the window. Marie scurried to the window and watched with awe as Carol hovered a few feet above the ground. She turned to look up at Marie's window one last time and winked reassuringly. _

_Marie shut her window and went to sleep. If anything, at least somebody could stand to be around her._

_--The next morning—_

_It was a foggy day in which the fog was so thick that one could barely see ten feet far. Marie waited on the curb and bit her lip nervously. If she was being completely honest, she'd admit to being scared witless. Afraid Carol wouldn't show, afraid of her warning, of what would happen. At ten past seven, a looming figure appeared in the fog. Marie tentatively called out. "Carol?"_

_She got no response. Three more figures showed up behind the first. Something glinted in the first guy's hand. Marie's throat began to close up, without thinking, she turned and ran. "GET HER!" Pounding footsteps resounded in Marie's throbbing ears as she pushed herself to the limit. It wasn't enough. They were steadily advancing on her, she had no where to hide._

_Marie's knees gave way as a solid, heavy weight fell upon her back. Crying out in pain, she tumbled to the ground. Around her, a circle had formed. The kid who had tackled her stood in the middle with her, the nearest of the bunch. It was Secon._

_Marie trembled and tried to pull herself to her feet, but Secon kicked her in the stomach, stopping her progress. Marie groaned and curled up into a ball, protectively holding her arms over her head. "Pitiful mutant." Secon spat at her. Marie closed her eyes and started to pray._

_Secon grabbed her arm and roughly pulled her to her feet. "Ya're comin' with us." He paused and took in her gloves. "Hiding a weapon in there or what? Take off your gloves."_

_It was surprising how the two could be compared. Her flesh was a weapon. A weapon she'd never use voluntarily. "Ah ca-"_

_Secon glared at her harshly and ripped off one of her gloves. Another kid grabbed her from behind and began leading her away. He flapped it flimsily, and then threw it over his shoulder carelessly. Marie's eyes followed the glove in horror. "Ya don't understand-"_

_She was again cut off by Secon. "Oh, Ah understand awlright, Ah understand that mah sister paid ya a little visit last night. We were jus' goin' ta scare ya at first, but now, now that ya've made it personal. Ah'm goin' ta make sure mah sister isn't influenced by any o' yar kind. No, we brought her in an' swore." He seemed to forget his friends were even there. "We swore right then an' there. Ya won't be tha one ta hurt mah sister."_

"_Ah-"_

"_Shut up."_

"_But Ah-" Secon backhanded her across the face. Marie's head whipped to one side as tears filled her eyes._

"_Ah said shut up." Secon's friends dragged her to the junkyard. Secon's father, Jerby, owned the junkyard. It opened at ten to ten, any other time of the day, it was deserted. Secon's friends threw her down and stepped back to watch their leader. _

_Marie tried to get up, but received a kick in the face for her efforts. Her jaw throbbed as she lay there. Second nodded and each of the boys held her down. Two for her legs and one to arms. They pinned her with their baggy kneed jeans holding her in place. All thoughts of escape were gone, only mind-numbing fear remained. Secon leaned down over her, intimidating her. "You're not goin' ta infest this town wit' ya trashy blood." His blade flicked out again and shimmered in the slight shine of the sun through the fog. Marie started to panic._

_Secon held the blade above her heart. Marie bucked wildly and the kid on her arms tilted slightly to the side, almost falling over. Secon glared at the kid and roughly pushed him out of the way to hold her down himself. Rogue lashed out with her free arm and struck a soft stomach._

_Secon gritted his teeth and brought down his knife hand to hold her free limb steady. The blade pierced through her arm and Marie cried out in pain as Secon's bare fingers touched her gloveless arm._

_Everything came rushing into her at once. Secon's life flashed before her eyes in a blur of pictures and colors. Emotions and desires arose in Rogue that were not her own. Feelings of hatred and vile disgust filled her brain with hardened self-loathing. She was a mutant. She hated mutants. She wasn't a mutant. She was Secon. Marie cried out in agony as his being joined hers, his thoughts and needs became her views and wants. _

_Secon's eyes fluttered as he fell to the side, but his fingers remained tightly gripping her arm. Marie fought to pry her arm away, but couldn't from the knife wound which took away her arm's strength. The kids around her backed up in horror, not knowing what was happening. Marie rolled over and used her other hand to force her arm out of his grasp. She leaned, gasping for something more than air, over the frail form of Secon's pale body._

_Marie stumbled to her feet. She was sure of only one thing; she had to get out of there. Now. She scurried away, awkwardly tripping with tears flooding her vision. Secon's mind mixed with her own, to the point that she couldn't tell the difference between him and her, it all became one life, molded by the clashing of two opposite minds. Marie stumbled through the streets of her hometown, suddenly hating the familiar pathway to her home, suddenly hating her life. She ran onward and didn't look back; it was in that moment that Marie became Rogue._

_You'll pay for that, bitch._

Rogue awoke with a start and sat up in bed abruptly with a sharp yelp. Her stomach screamed in protest as her back cracked loudly and pain shot up her spine. Her head throbbed consecutively. It felt like someone was continually shoving knives through her skull. Rogue groaned and fell back into the puffy stuffing that made up her pillow.

Her body ached horribly. The pain was impossible to ignore, it raked through her system like an overwhelming tidal wave wiping away a small home. She tried to remember what had happened, but only flashes came to mind. Her memory was a soggy washboard that had been scraped thinly so that only the blurs remained.

_Logan, what happened?_

It took him longer to respond than usual; Rogue closed her eyes and concentrated, she heard the familiar _snick_ repetitively drawing in and out. _Your damn friend from Mississippi, that's what._

_Ah don't remember anything._

Logan snorted. _That's no surprise; considering she cracked your skull open. Nearly split the damn thing in half._

_What?!_ Rogue took a deep breath. Her stomach jolted her system again. _Logan, please explain what's going on._

_The nightmare you jus' had, ya remember it at all?_

_Ah didn't know ya experienced mah nightmares…_

_That's beside the point._ Logan huffed and the familiar _snick_ noise rapidly increased. Rogue's pounding head began to ache even more._ Look kid, the girl from your nightmare…Carol, she's the one that attacked you two days ago. I don't know why, but I'm getting the sense of revenge from her brother here._

_Secon?! _Rogue asked, surprised and a little panicked.

As if saying his name had actually called him forth, Secon spoke. _That's right bitch! Carol's goin' ta get ya good fohr---_

_Shut him up already! _Logan roared. His voice was so angry, so filled with fury; Rogue had only heard him so wildly mad when he was completely wrapped up in his animalistic half. _Goddamn it boy, are you good for nothin' at all? He's just a human, for Christ sakes, keep him quiet!_

_'M tryin'! Hold y' horses homme!_

Rogue's hands moved to her head where the pounding increased again by a tenfold. It felt like her head was splitting down the middle._ Don't yell, Logan. Please…_

_I'm sorry darlin',_ Logan apologized,_ this tool's little sister came after ya. Strong as hell. She nearly killed ya._

Rogue frowned. _How did Ah end up here?_

_That's another story…I think I'd better show ya what happened, kid. When you're well._

_Show meh, Logan. If Ah didn't heal in two day's time then Ah'm not gunna be better anytime soon. Show meh now._

Logan hesitated. _I don't think that's the best idea, kid…_

_Don't make meh look fohr it mahself, _Rogue threatened, _that'll only hurt more. _

_Kid…_

_Come on Logan, jus' show meh._

_Ya ain't gunna like this, kid…_Nevertheless, Logan showed her. He opened up his memories from what he saw. Between Magneto and Rogue, seeing through both their eyes and knowing the situation, he knew everything. It took Rogue a few minutes to watch and absorb it all. After she did, she was silent.

_Darlin'? Ya still with me?_

Rogue opened her eyes and blinked twice, no longer wishing to remain in her sub-consciousness. _Yeah, Ah jus'…Ah can't believe she's back…_

"Nice to see you've joined us again."

Rogue's eyes followed the unfamiliar walls to the sound. He gaze fell on Wanda, who was leaning against the wall carelessly, as if she had been waiting for Rogue to wake up. Rogue closed her eyes and swallowed. "This faintin' gig is becomin' way too customary." Her stomach ached with every word, but it hurt when she didn't talk anyway so she paid it little head.

"I suppose you have a knack for getting knocked out." Wanda's tone was flat, expressionless. Not even a hint of light humor colored her tone.

Rogue blinked at Wanda, seeming to realize her setting was not her own. "Why didn't ya put meh in mah room?"

"Your wall is missing."

"Oh." Rogue frowned. "Ya brought meh here?" She already knew the answer, but Rogue wanted to ask. Something about Wanda was off, she was being distant.

"Yeah." Wanda replied curtly, still staring intently at Rogue. Her eyes gave her away, they were shallow, watchful.

"Wanda…"

"What?"

"About Erik, Ah-"

"I don't want to talk about it." Wanda's eyes held a dangerous flare that alighted at the mention of her father.

Rogue pushed. "But Ah-"

"I said I don't want to talk about it." Wanda's thinned tone begged no opposition. "Drop the subject, Rogue."

Rogue dropped her gaze to her feet. Her body still protested her every movement, down to the twitch of her fingers, but she didn't expect it'd go away. Rogue chewed on her bottom lip. "Ah know tha girl who attacked meh."

"I suspected as much." The tone was still there, hard and unfriendly. "She nearly killed you. People don't act out so furiously with just a command from a higher boss." The question was hidden behind the contexts of the statement.

"Ah knew her in tha past, when Ah lived in Mississippi." Rogue explained. She breathed in heavily, causing her body to spasm slightly. A hint of concern lightly passed Wanda's features before Rogue continued. "Ah put her brother in a coma."

Wanda moved from her position of leaning against the wall to sit down on the far corner edge of Rogue's bed. "Well that couldn't have been your fault."

"Tha way it unfolded…it'd look very incriminating of meh ta say Ah didn't do it purposely. Tha day before the kid, Secon, decided ta mess with meh, Carol, his sister, came to warn me." Rogue paused for a minute and took in another breath that rattled her entire frame. "Nobody really knew what mah mutation was at tha time, Ah just knew it came from mah skin. So Carol warned meh about him an' then promised ta meet up with meh tomorrow. Secon had figured out where she went tha other day when she warned meh. So he came outah nowhere an' started attackin' meh. He accidentally touched meh for an extended period of tahme an' Ah absorbed a lot of him. Ah don't suspect that Carol knows it wasn't purposely, it jus' looks like betrayal, after she warned meh an' all. An' he turned out lihke David."

Wanda's frown had deepened considerably to the point where her features emphasized the downward turn of her mouth. She seemed to forget, temporarily, her hesitance to Rogue. "How many people have you absorbed Rogue? I don't see how you control a bunch of different people in your mind. Doesn't it get confusing?"

Rogue bit her bottom lip in nervousness. "Since mah mutation began, Ah've touched nine people. It _is_ kinda hard. Sometimes Ah find mahself doin' things that I'd never do, some are little lihke putting ham on my peanut butter and jelly sandwich or doodling with mah left hand an' the doodle comes out as a reflection picture of someone Ah absorbed. Other things that happen are bigger, an' Ah don't even know Ah'm doin' them. Everyone Ah touch becomes a part of meh, without tha professor or Jean's help, those lines are blurrin' together." Rogue's eyes raised to stare at the ceiling. "With so many other personalities wandrin' around mah head, slippin' in traits of their own, Ah don't even know if Ah'm really meh anymore."

"Mystique's calling in a psychic."

"Wha?"

"Mystique." Wanda repeated, "She's calling in a psychic. You're not supposed to know about it yet, but I suppose the psychic's for you, so it doesn't hurt for me to tell you."

Rogue was confused. "How would Mystique know about tha trouble Ah've been havin' with mah voices?" Wanda lowered her eyes and dropped her head to stare at the floor. Rogue's eyes darkened as the truth occurred to her. "Ya've been tellin' her everythin', haven't you?"

"Rogue, I-"

Rogue cut Wanda off, suddenly infuriated. Everything pieced together perfectly. No wonder Wanda always talked to her. Rogue had trusted her, told her things that she didn't tell anybody else. And she had betrayed her. "No, Ah don't want to hear it. Ah see everythin' now, ya jus' were 'friendly' with meh ta get information about mah condition ta relay ta Mystique! Ya never were sincere in anythin'! It was all lies!"

"That's not—"

"Which is also why ya never told meh anything back! Ya jus' sat there an' listened ta meh tellin' you everythin', but when any subject about you came up, ya never told meh anythin'!"

"Rogue, I didn't—"

Rogue didn't let her finish. "Ah trusted ya! Ah trusted ya, Wanda! An' now, Ah don't even know why. Well, ya can go tell mah mother, your ever trusty boss, that if she wanted ta bond, this wasn't the way ta go about it! Ah'm through with this! Ah'm leavin'! Ya can tell her—Ahhhh!" Rogue's hands flew up to her head as she felt someone slam against her deteriorating shields that held back the psyches. Desires started to fill Rogue's mind. She needed to see Carol. She needed to hurt herself. She needed to leave. Rogue started to cough violently, one hand fell over her stomach as the other supported her pounding head. It felt as if someone decided to whack her repetively with a sludge hammer. Her body ached in agony, her limbs felt unnaturally heavy. She continued to cough and flecks of blood splattered the white sheets. Fat, watery tears spilled down her cheeks, untouched, they rolled gently to her chin and dropped to her lap.

_REMY!_

"Rogue!" Wanda jumped off the edge of the bed and rushed to her side, unsure of what to do. "REMY, I KNOW YOU'RE WATCHING! GET HELP!"

The screaming wasn't helping. Everyone was screaming, Wanda, Logan, Remy, Secon. A battle was taking place in Rogue's mind. Secon had managed to get loose from Remy and he was trying to take control. Memories that weren't her own flooded her mind. Remy lunged for Secon and held him down. The pain and screaming didn't stop.

Rogue screamed and lashed out wildly, accidentally smacking Wanda in the process. "Stop, stop STOP! Make it stop!" Rogue pleaded helplessly. Eyes tightly shut; Rogue pushed back at all the psyches with every reserve bit of strength she possessed. All fell quiet instantly.

Rogue could hear her heartbeat pounding in her chest. Her limbs still ached, but the screaming was gone. She hesitantly opened her watery eyes. Wanda and Remy stood frozen in the room, staring at her as if she'd grown an extra head.

"Rogue, are you alright?" Wanda knelt beside her concernedly, almost motherly. Rogue was angry. Unreasonably angry. In that moment, she hated everything and everybody.

"Lihke ya would care?" Rogue's resolve hardened. "Go report this to Mystique too, won't ya? That's your job, isn't it?"

"Rogue—"

"Get out." The command was hissed through clenched teeth, like the low hiss of a snake, it demanded no objection. Wanda bit her lower lip and ushered Remy out ahead of her. Casting one last gaze over her shoulder, she shut the door behind her gently.

Not even the faintest _snick _of Logan's claws could be heard. Rogue was alone once more. Rogue burrowed back down into the covers and cried.


	11. Hurt

_A/N: Again, I'm sorry for this chapter's shortness. I made you guys wait nearly a week so I wanted to get this out quickly, so it's a little shorter. Sorry, maybe the action will make up for that. Enjoy._

Two hours later, the door swung open. Rogue's eyes narrowed upon Wanda. "What the hell are you doin' here?"

"Rogue, we need to talk."

"Ah don't want ta talk ta you."

"We need to talk." Wanda walked to the edge of the bed, but didn't sit down. "You don't understand the whole situation, and you need to before Mystique gets here."

Rogue sneered. "Why, ya goin' ta get in trouble with Blue if we don't make up?"

"It's not like that."

"What's it lihke, then?"

"In order to stay here, I have to do something for Mystique. I never meant to hurt you with this; I just had to tell Mystique some of what happened." Wanda bit her lower lip. "I only told her what she absolutely needed to hear."

Rogue's eyes narrowed. "Right. 'Cause Mystique couldn't jus' come straight ta meh with any of this. It's not lihke Ah'm her daughter or nothin'."

"Mystique jus doesn't know how to go about being a mother. We all need help sometimes."

Rogue was still angry. "Why didn't ya tell meh? Why'd ya hide everything behind this wall of lies?"

"I didn't mean it to come off like that. I just-I'm just trying to help, Rogue."

"Well ya do a bang-up job of it. Ah'd like ta know, what gave you the idea that it was alright? Explain ta meh why ya have the right ta go behind mah back, schemin' with Mystique."

Wanda sighed and took a deep breath. "I wasn't scheming with Mystique, I-"

Rogue cut her off harshly. "Bullshit, don't lie ta meh. Ya jus' were pretendin' ta be mah 'friend' all along so ya could report ta Mystique."

"I wasn't pretending-"

"Ya expect meh ta believe that? Ya expect meh to believe that while Ah was tellin' ya all about mah past, mah secrets that Ah never told anybody but Logan, that ya were truly concerned? Damn it! Ah shoulda known by the way ya never told meh anything back! Jus' gather ya information an' report, that's exactly how it is!"

Wanda's teeth clenched. "If you knew about my past, you wouldn't say such stupid things."

"Yeah, well Ah don't know. Ya never shared, 'member? Ya an' your stupid, messed up family with Magneto an' Pietro, how ya never are a sister ta Pietro or a daughter ta your own father. He cried fohr hours after ya unexpectantly hugged him-"

"Shut up." Wanda hissed, "You have no idea what I've gone through."

"Maybe Ah should! Maybe Ah should go through Erik's memories an' find out what damaged ya so bad that ya-"

"_SHUT UP, YOU STUPID BITCH_!" Wanda looked as if she were about to attack Rogue. "Don't you dare look into his memories," Wanda's eyes were hollow and reddening. She was about to cry. Rogue had never seen Wanda cry. "Don't you dare invade my privacy. I'll kill you, you-you fucking leech!" The tears fell. Wanda turned on her heel and left.

Hot, angry tears slid down Rogue's cheeks. She buried her face in her blanket and struggled to strangle the usually comforting sheet. Wanda would pay for her lies.

--------

_Pietro watched the scene unfold in ridged terror, unable to move, speak, to do anything._

_Wanda was sprawled over the body, hugging it, weeping, shaking, broken. Erik stared down, aghast. Lorna, his Lorna, his youngest, most innocent daughter, his world, was dead. He fell to his knees and crawled over to her still, pale frame. "Lorna!" The cry was ripped from his throat in a heart-wrenching cry that wasn't remotely human, like the cry of a dying animal. _

_Wanda's head flicked up and shining green eyes fell upon him in horror. Red-rimmed, empty, lifeless, she choked on her own tears, falling back from the corpse so that he could behold her features._

_She was still. Hair splayed out behind her head like a halo of shimmering gold, framing her head. Color-drained eyes stared straight ahead, forever staring at nothing, but seeing everything. Her lips were slightly parted, already loosing their red color, they were pale and deranged. But the thing that was most obvious. The one that drew his eyes immediately, it was the first thing he saw and his eyes remained fixated on the spot. A little, tiny hole at the base of her forehead, centered perfectly in the middle of her eyebrows. Red blood was smeared across her forehead, but the hole couldn't be avoided. A perfect, tiny circle formed from a tiny scrap of metal._

_Drawn, Erik let his hand hover above her face. Out of the hole lifted the tiniest, blunted bullet. The bullet that had killed her. That had taken her away from him forever. She had been killed by the tiniest scrap of metal, the one thing he had the most control over._

_Erik's eyes lifted to Wanda, the bullet still hovering under his palm. Her outfit was the customary red, revealing piece that she always were. Her auburn, almost red locks, danced before her eyes, swaying in the breeze. Her face was covered in flecks of blood. Smeared blood covered her delicate lips. She had kissed Lorna goodbye already. All Erik saw was red._

_It was impossible to completely follow what happened, except in memory, everything was recorded. The bullet that hovered under Erik's palm sped and ricocheted directly at Wanda. It struck her stomach and dove deep. Wanda screamed. _

_Erik rose to his full height. Metal flew around him, gathering. The metal cupped around Wanda's hands. She couldn't direct her magic. She couldn't protect herself. More metal flew; the gray color only reminded Erik of Lorna's pale frame. She was pinned under it. He closed his fist._

_The metal started tightening around her frame. Wanda's screams were lost to him, he only saw red, heard red, felt red. Bones crackled under the pressure. Confused, hurt, deadened eyes stared in horror. "Daddy…" Forced, strained under weight, barely audible._

_The metal stopped squeezing. "You killed her."_

_Tears were not enough to describe the anguish Wanda felt, and none of it came from her broken bones or the encompassing metal. "I wasn't fast enough."_

_Some of the metal fell away. She was still floating in the air by the two metal gloves that encompassed her hands, stopping her from doing anything to fight back. Erik walked up to her. He touched her chin and wiped away the blood smeared on her lips. His hand flew back and hit her across the jaw. It hurt more than any of the metal had. "Daddy…"_

"_I have no daughter. Not anymore." With that, he flicked his hand. Wanda flew back through the trees, cracking branches, breaking more tender bones, bruising, by the metal that surrounded her hands. The fort came into sight. Wanda gasped._

"_No daddy! No!" The place she had escaped from, the place she tried to carry Lorna out of. The place that Lorna had died. The place of torture, where her father had promised to save her from. He brought her back._

_The guards saw her coming, directed by an unseen force. Pietro could hear her screams miles away. Erik started hating all humans. That day, he became Magneto._

**Pietro sat up in bed, breathing hard and sweating.** He took a deep, calming breath and threw off the covers. Pulling on new clothes, he went outside and zipped out of sight. In another few seconds, he was at Erik's base. He entered and found Erik in his room, sitting casually on the bed.

"Father?"

Erik looked up at him and stood up. "My son." He held out his arms and Pietro walked into them, hugging his father back. "Have you spoken to her?"

"Not yet, father. I will soon, but…father, I'm afraid her answer will be no different."

Erik let go of his son and inspected him from a short distance. "I suspect as much. I'm thinking of a trade."

"What kind of trade?"

"I will kidnap Rogue and barter with Mystique for Wanda."

Pietro bit his lip. "Are you sure that's a good idea?"

Erik was old, he was much frailer than before he was hit with the cure, and he was weaker, but one thing he was better for. He was smarter. Mystique needed her daughter as much as he needed Wanda. She would do anything to get her back. "I'm positive."

--------

"You what?!"

"It was a mistake. I didn't mean to let it slip." Without warning, Mystique spun around fast and kicked hard. Wanda hadn't expected the sudden attack. The kick landed harshly against her lower jaw and she was lifted off her feet to fall back, landing lopsided on her side. The attack didn't stop. Another kick found its target against the side of her cheek, jarring her head back. A strong, tight grip wrapped around her throat. Once again, her feet left the ground and Wanda found herself staring down at two angry, yellow eyes as her air was cut off.

"We don't make mistakes." Claws extended out of the blue woman's knuckles and she brought them close to Wanda's face. Wanda was choking, black dots had already started to appear in front of her eyes, but she didn't show Mystique her discomfort. Mystique grazed the cheek that wasn't swelling and three red streaks of blood started falling from Wanda's cheek. Mystique's teeth clenched and she threw Wanda to the side carelessly. Wanda began to cough, taking in breaths of air that she had lacked. "If it happens again, I'll make sure you're not around to make a third mistake. Tell your brother the same." Yellow eyes glared down at Wanda's sprawled form against the carpeted form. "Get out of my sight."

Wanda left, not cowardly crawling or struggling, but walking straight out. She shut the door behind her and only then did she bring up her hand against the side of her cheek. It came away sticky and wet, covered in fresh blood. Her jaw ached from the cheek all the way down. Wanda began making her way to the kitchen to find an ice pack.

A whiz of air ruffled her hair and then suddenly pulled back and stopped. "Wanda? I've been looking for you."

Wanda continued walking. "What do you want, Pietro?"

Pietro jogged a short way to catch up with her and grabbed her arm to stop her progress. He put a hand gently against the side of her face, turned her head slightly, and inspected the damage. "Did Mystique do this? Are you alright?"

Wanda slapped his hand away. "Since when have you started caring?" She began walking again. Pietro followed.

"It's about dad." Wanda's jaw tightened, she fought to keep her eyes forward and her legs moving. "Wanda, we want you to come back."

"That's never going to happen. We had a deal, Pietro. You can stay around if you want to 'watch' me, but I'm never going to return to him."

"He's different. He's sorry. It was panic of the moment, Wanda. He didn't mean to hurt you."

Wanda's eyes narrowed and she finally stopped, turning to Pietro. "He didn't mean to hurt me? He nearly killed me, Pietro; he stripped me of all my dignity. He's the reason I don't trust you or anybody anymore." Her voice was low, in a dangerous hushed tone so she wouldn't be overheard. "He ruined my life. I will _never_ return to that monster."

"He's going to try to force you to come home again."

"He can try." Wanda began walking again. "Never worked before."

"He's going to kidnap Rogue."

Wanda didn't even break step. "Let him."

--------

The door slowly creaked open. Rogue tightened her jaw and willed herself not to cry in front of whoever it was. Remy's familiar form filled the doorway. He was carrying a plate of food. "Hey, River Rat."

Rogue closed her eyes. "Please, leave meh alone."

"_Non._" The bed tilted as an extra weight was added. Rogue opened her eyes in time to see Remy put down the plate on the counter next to Rogue's head. Remy sat on the edge of the bed, sitting upright and not smiling for once. Rogue almost missed that smile. "Dere be dings y' gotta understand, _cherie._ Dey may not be dings y' like, but y' gotta understand dem."

"Ah understand that betrayal is betrayal. There's nothin' more to understand about it." Rogue replied harshly, gaining back nerve at Remy's refusal to leave.

"She was jus' doin' her job, Rogue."

"So that entitles her ta pretend ta be mah friend when really, she's jus' wantin' meh ta tell her everythin' so she cahn relay it ta mah mother." Rogue's accent was growing thicker the angrier she became. "An' what about ya? Ya are up here on Mystique's orders too, aren't ya? Why should Ah even care about anythin' mah mother wants ya ta say ta meh? You…you were jus' pretendin' too."

"Mystique doesn't know I'm here." At the back of her mind, she barely registered that he was speaking first person again. "Dere's more t' de situation dan the simplistic way y' puttin' it, an' y' know dat Rogue. Y' not stupid. Neither of us were pretendin' t' be y' friend an' I'm not pretendin' t' do nothin' here either. Wanda an' me, we care fo' y' well bein'. She told Mystique de barest minimum, an' only what would be fo' y' good. Mystique's enraged wit' Wanda fo' not tellin' her everythin'."

Rogue's fight was gone. Everything Remy had said, she knew it was true. "Ah…how could Mystique do this ta meh…"

"Will y' talk t' Wanda?"

"Ah don't think she wants ta talk ta meh." Rogue hesitated, "Ah…said some stuff Ah shouldn't have."

"Did y' mention her father?"

Rogue nodded slowly, her eyes glued to the blanket. "Ah was jus' so mad…Ah threatened ta search Erik's memories."

Remy sighed. "Dat might be a problem."

"She told you about her past?"

Remy shook his head. _"Non._ I gathered some from differn' encounters. Not de whole picture, but enough t' know."

"Will you tell meh?"

Remy shook his head again. "She'll tell y' if she wants. Not my place." Remy stood up.

"You're leavin'?"

"Have t' fix de wall with Wanda. Was quite a mess."

Rogue fell back against her pillows. "Oh. Okay."

"I'll try t' talk t' her, Roguey. Y' jus' be a good girl, _oui?_"

Rogue gave him a brave smile that she didn't feel. "Yeah, okay. Bye Remy."

Remy left. Rogue sighed and closed her eyes deeply. Something wrapped around her mouth and Rogue's eyes shot open. A foul, white cloth was wrapped around her mouth and as Rogue inhaled, she felt dizzy. Unconsciousness danced before her vision, she tried to turn her head to see her attacker, but it was too late. Rogue fell limply into the covers and the attacker began their work. The very voices in Rogue's mind screamed in protest.


	12. Future

_**Snick, snick, snick, snick, snick.**__ The rapid succession of Logan's claws only further proved the point of his annoyance. _"_DO SOMETHIN'!"_

_**"**__Logan, calm yourself! There is nothing we can do. The chloroform has shut down her system. I was only allowed to control her before because she fainted from the pain. This is a completely different matter. Even if you or I took control of her body, we wouldn't be able to do anything. Her body has shut down." Erik explained in an eerily calm manner._

_ Logan was quite the opposite. He knew the scent of chloroform when it had been used on Rogue, but since she already passed out from its effects, he had no other way of knowing what was going on. Rogue could be getting kidnapped, again, for all he knew, and there was nothing he could do about it. Worse yet, Secon was really causing trouble. Logan wouldn't even have dreamed it possible; the kid seemed to be growing stronger every day. The first day they bound him down with rope, but he escaped that and eventually, they took him down to the mansion's infirmity and strapped him down with metal restraints. The restraints held him, but for how much longer, Logan wasn't sure. _

_As the scene with Wanda unfolded, Logan had tried to speak to Rogue, but Rogue didn't appear to hear him at all. Secon constantly writhed against his bonds, struggling to get free. Logan believed that Secon was actually starting to influence Rogue a little bit. Her fight with Wanda seemed too coincidental, especially because it only took Remy a few words to calm her. Logan always knew Rogue's emotions since his psyche lived within her, and he knew what made her tick. Rogue was stubborn, but not cruel or stupid. Logan was astonished when she threatened to look through Erik's memories. Rogue was neither one to invade others' privacy nor did she like searching or releasing the thoughts and memories that belonged to her psyches. To even threaten to do something like that was completely uncharacteristic of her._

_Logan wished he could have spoken with Rogue. That was another thing in a long list that disturbed him. It wasn't that Rogue ignored him, he could tell when she chose not to listen, no; it was as if she didn't hear him at all. In fact, after Secon's first escape attempt in which Rogue nearly screamed herself to fainting, Logan hadn't been able to speak to her since. And now, she was unconscious. He couldn't even try anymore._

_Logan was worried._

_It was neither a feeling he was very familiar with or liked. His jaw clenched. He mumbled something to Erik and left the older mutant alone. He would pay Secon a little visit._

_Logan made his way through the mansion to the lower levels of the complex. He opened the infirmity door and found Remy casually leaning against the wall, smoking a cigarette while shuffling a deck of cards. Logan hated cigarettes._

_"Get rid of that thing." He growled lowly. Remy's head rose in his general direction, his fingers never stopped shuffling the cards. _

_"Y' smoke too, mon ami." Remy pointed out._

_"Not that crap, I don't. Go on, get rid of it."_

_"Not like it hurts." Nevertheless, Remy snuffed out the cigarette on the wall behind him with one smooth hand motion and tucked away his ever-present cards. "What got y' all uptight?"_

_Logan didn't answer. Instead, he went to the operating table that Secon was strapped down upon. The boy was struggling, as usual, but smiling. His eyes fell upon Logan and he ceased his struggles. "Nice of ya ta visit. Wonderin' about ya little daughter up there?" The gleam in his eyes couldn't be mistaken for anything else. Secon's smile only proved his hostility. His eyes glittered. Logan tried scanning Secon's mind and found an empty blank space. Something was entirely wrong. He should have seen the whole kid's story, all his memories and recollections. But there was nothing._

_"What'd you do to Rogue?" Logan's claws stopped the perpetual motion. He let them stay out, cold and intimidating._

_"S'not what Ah did, per say. Let's jus' say Rogue had a little visitor earlier."_

_Logan was getting more and more pissed off. "Stop playin' your stupid games, tell me what you're talking about or you're gunna find yourself on the wrong end of these." He pushed his claws close to the kid's throat._

_Secon's smile widened. "She's in fohr it, ya know? She's gunna suffer an' be obliterated, thanks ta the visitor. Cahn ya believe it? A mutant helped meh ta get rid of her! Ah guess there are good ones out there, other than sis. That's the first thing Ah'll do, Ah'll free sis. Together, we'll find a psychic and get rid of her and all ya other voices. Then Ah'll live out her life, since she ruined mine."_

_Remy pushed off against the wall, angry. "That's not what happened, homme! It's y' fault that y' touched her an' tried t' kill her. She didn't do anythin' t' y'!" Logan turned and stared at Remy. Remy shrugged. "Found out how t' look drough minds." Logan was too mad at Secon to be angry at Remy. Remy would get his punishment for going through Rogue's mind later. They had bigger things to worry about._

_Secon glared at Remy. "She took away mah life an' more before meh! She ruined David too. Now Ah'm going ta ruin her."_

_"Secon, it wasn't her fault." The door behind the three of them shut. Secon arched his back on the table to see who it was. The kid walked into sight and stood above Secon's operating table. "She didn't mean ta hurt meh or you."_

_Secon's eyes lost the mad hostility and his fists unclenched. His features relaxed into a shocked expression. "David…Ah thought ya were gone fohr good man. Thought ya faded, even in her mind."_

_"Ah didn't. All Marie's psyches stay. She let meh stay. Secon, she didn't mean ta hurt any of us. It jus' happened and she was scared."_

_Secon's eyes darkened again. "Man, ya jus' don't get it, do ya? These people are spreadin' a disease an' it's infectin' us all. Ah can't believe she got ya on her side with this." David opened his mouth to interrupt, but Secon wouldn't hear it. "No, man, that's not cool. Ah thought ya were on the same level as meh. Do ya even know what happened ta ya man? Ah mean the real you?" He didn't wait for an answer. "Ya sick, man! Ya so sick ya can't even get up, she robbed ya of everythin'. No man, she's scum, she deserves what she got an' she deserves this here too." He looked directly at Logan. "When mah strength builds up jus' a little more, Ah'm breakin' free an' takin' over. Ya got that, fuzzball? Ya'r daughter's nothin' but a freak, a life-suckin' leechin' freak-"_

_Logan roared, without hesitating he reared back and drove his claws deeply into Secon's heart. Secon choked back the words and his eyes watered. For a moment, it looked as if he was about to cry. His eyes found Logan again. He smiled._

_"It is done." His body went still. Logan blinked once and he was gone, an echoing laughter filled the room. Logan didn't know it then, but he had just set Secon free. Rogue was in danger._

**Unfortunately, Rogue was unconscious. **She could not defend herself against her new attacker. The girl threw the covers off Rogue, tucked the chloroform cloth into her pocket, and attempted to roll her off the bed into her arms. As soon as Rogue's limp form fell off the bed and into her attacker's arms, her attacker also fell. The girls thudded to the ground in a tangle of limbs. The attacker froze, listening to the sounds below to see if anyone had heard. The sound of pounding nails didn't stop. She was safe, for now. "Damnit Marie, ya weigh so much!" The girl grabbed Rogue's gloved arm and dragged her across the floor to the window.

She dropped Rogue's arm and peeped out the window. The ground looked so far away; they were on the third floor of the mansion. The attacker gulped and turned back to Rogue. "Now, how are we goin' ta do this…" Hauling Rogue with all the strength she could muster, the girl threw Rogue over her shoulder. She smiled, feeling accomplished. Cautiously sticking one leg out the window, she reached for the ladder she had strategically placed against the wall. The movement unbalanced her. Rogue's dead weight tilted back and brought her down with her. They crashed to the floor for a second time. The girl listened for a moment, trying to hear any change in the activities downstairs. Nothing changed.

She untangled herself from Rogue again and glared harshly at the girl. "This is all ya fault!" She accused in a hushed whisper, afraid of being heard. She flicked Rogue's upper arm and huffed. "Now what am Ah supposed ta do with ya?"

"Y' mighta' dought o' dat when y' decided t' kidnap Remy's River Rat."

The girl's eyes frantically glanced upward to the source of the new sound. Remy stood in the doorway, smiling faintly at the girl's botched kidnapping attempt. "Damnit!" The girl looked to the window then back at Remy and finally down at Rogue. Her eyes lit up. "Hey, it's you! Ah know ya!"

Remy quirked an eyebrow, amused. "Do y' now? Remy be sorry t' be de one t' tell y' dis, but dat's not _dat_ much o' an accomplishment. Lots of _filles_ know dis _homme._"

She pointed at him accusingly. "That's right! Ah know ya! Ya were the guy! The guy in mah vision that Rogue…" She trailed off and suddenly looked down at Rogue again. "Ahh!" She jumped on Rogue and, mustering all of her strength, dragged her upright so Rogue almost acted as a shield between her and Remy. "Don't touch mah sister! Stay back!"

"Sister?" Remy looked mildly confused, "Q' Gracie?"

Rogue's form thumped to the ground as the girl stared, openmouthed at Remy. "Ya know meh?" She seemed to realize she had just dropped Rogue. "Oh, shit!" She bent down over Rogue and propped her up into her lap, still staring suspiciously at Remy. Trying to appear tough, she glared at Remy with as much conviction as she could. She just looked cute. "How do ya know meh?"

"Rogue mentioned y' once o' twice." Remy shrugged and put on a quizzical look. "Why'd ya use de chloroform on her if she's y' sister?"

"'Cause she might not have come." Gracie replied honestly, as if it should have been obvious.

Remy smiled. He was starting to like this kid. "So, about dis vision y' had. Remy's de guy dat Rogue…what? What'd Rogue do in dis vision?"

Gracie's cheeks turned red. "Nothin'! She didn't do nothing in mah vision! An' even if she did do somethin', which she didn't, Ah'm saving her now so she won't do nothin' anyway!"

Remy was enjoying himself. "Really now? Dis nothin' seems interestin'. Mind describin' it for Remy?"

Gracie's blush deepened. "No! 'Cause that's it! It was nothing! Nothing…like mutton sheep! Now leave meh be, Ah gotta save Marie. Go!"

"Did y' plan dat o' was de rhymin' by accident?" Remy's grin knew no bounds. "Remy's never heard nothin' compared t' mutton sheep before." Remy held up a finger, like he'd just figured it out. "Oh, Remy gets it. Y' mean dat sheep get shaven all de time, so Rogue's goin' t' shave herself o' her clothes for Remy. O' course, dat kinda nothin'. Yeah, Remy gets dat kinda nothin' all de time. De _filles _love him."

"See, Ah knew it! Ah gotta tell her now! Ya don't care 'cause ya-ya'r a man-whore!"

Remy opened his mouth a put a hand to his chest. "Y' would offend Remy so? De preferred way o' sayin' dat is Remy pleases women's desires. He does a service t' women, y' know?"

"Y-Ya were planning ta do a service ta Marie?!" Gracie gathered Rogue closer to her. "Well she doesn't want it! Go take ya services elsewhere!"

"Aww, _chere,_ y' make it sound like Remy's de bad guy. Roguey's different. She's de River Rat o' Remy's heart. Firs' woman, other dan Wanda o' course-but she's a special case, but anyway, firs' woman t' be resilient t' Remy's undeniable charms. But don' worry, Remy's workin' on dat an-"

"N-No, no, No, NO! S-Stop! Ah don't want ta hear anymore! Ah'm leavin'!"

Remy leaned casually against the wall. "How y' gunna go 'bout doin' dat? Fall out de window?" He didn't wait for a response. "So what makes y' dink y' savin' Roguey anyway? Ever dink dat she wants t' be here?"

Gracie's expression fell. "Ah'm savin' her 'cause she's in danger. Ya don't have ta understand it, but if she stays here, she's in danger."

"How so?" Remy asked lightly, pulling out his cards and shuffling them. "Dere's a lotta places dat Roguey be in danger. Dis be one of de safer ones."

Gracie looked at him quizzically, questioningly. "Wait, ya don't know?"

"Apparently not. Why don' ya inform meh?"

Gracie's eyes locked on his moving hands that were currently shuffling cards. "A-Ah don't trust ya. Why should Ah? Y-Ya'r a bad person, from p-personal judgment an' mah vision."

Remy shrugged, carefree. "Y' not unconscious, are y'? Remy coulda knocked y' out a'long time ago."

Gracie bit her bottom lip in a nervous habit she had obtained from Rogue. "Cahn ya help meh get Marie outah here?"

"_Je suis désolé_, can't do dat _fille._"

"Then Ah can't trust ya."

Remy licked his top teeth with his tongue. "Den we're in a situation, _chere._ Y' see, y' are tryin' t' kidnap Roguey, no matter who y' are o' for what purpose. Remy don't want t' turn y' over t' Mystique 'cause she'll jus' overreact about dis, but Remy also can't leave y' here t' do as y' please. Goin' t' have t' bring y' downstairs, _fille."_

For the first time, Gracie looked scared. She cowered further into the corner and dragged Rogue with her. "Ah-Ah jus' want t-ta help mah sister…" Her wide, watery, ocean blue eyes locked onto his. Dark brown hair, much similar to Rogue's, jounced in the wind and moved across her face in straight, neatly combed strands. "Ah don't want Marie ta die."

Remy froze. The cards in his hands fell to the floor, fluttering softly as they went. He stared down at Gracie, long and hard. Footsteps thudded behind him and a very frustrated Wanda showed up down the hall. Jaw set tight, she stopped at her doorframe.

"What's going on?" She directed the question to Remy, eyes locked on the sight in the bedroom. She saw the girl tugging on Rogue, carefully watching Remy. She didn't know who she was, but she didn't care.

"Wanda." Remy addressed slowly, not taking his eyes off the girl. "Me dinks we have a little bit o' a situation." He gently grabbed her arm, aware of her furious temper and current dislike to Rogue, and guided her into the room. He shut, locked, and bolted the door behind him.

Remy turned to Wanda. It was then that he saw her bruises. Her neck was bruised as was her jawbone to the cheek and on the other side of her face she had three identical claw marks slashed into the delicate skin. He blinked twice. "_Chere, _y' alright?" He made to touch her face, but Wanda smacked his hand away.

"I'm fine," Her tone was stiff and her eyes were locked on Rogue's still frame. It was not a friendly gaze. Gracie shifted uncomfortably, noticing the harsh woman's gaze. She pulled Rogue a little closer, but ever-cautious not to touch any exposed skin.

Remy sighed deeply. "Wanda, dis has gotta stop. Rogue an' y' can't keep fightin'."

Wanda's gaze lifted from Rogue. "You decided to settle Rogue's argument with me while she's unconscious?"

"_Non, _jus' worked out dat way. But listen, Wanda dis ding between y' an' Rogue is ridiculous. Jus' too much PMSing dis week." Before Wanda could say anything to his outlandish comment, he continued, not letting her speak. "Y' both were upset in de moment an' said dings y' shouldn't have. I've talked to Rogue, she's sorry, an' I realize it's not entirely y' fault, but come'on Wanda. Dink of it from her perspective. It looked like betrayal, y' can't hold it against her."

Wanda's gaze was no less piercing. "Now what did you really call me in for?"

Remy turned to Gracie. "Dat's what we'll find out."

All eyes were locked on Gracie. She felt incredibly small and fearful. These two were real hard-core, tough-ass mutants. She was just a little concerned southerner. They could kill her without thinking twice. "Ah-Ah can see the future." Her nervous stutter returned, "Bits an' pieces at a tahme. Ah c-can't control it, it jus' comes an' goes whenever." She bit down hard on her bottom lip to stop trembling.

"What did y' see?"

"M-Marie w-was forced ta absorb all these mutants." Gracie swallowed thickly. "Sh-She was influenced, so far, s-she was so confused. Not really knowing anything with so many people in her head…"

"What happened?"

"S-She became powerful. Really powerful and…" Gracie's voice broke. "And uncontrollably lost from everythin' around her. She hurt everybody, includin' her friends…finally, after so much a stand was made-an'-and she was-was killed."

"By who? Who made the final stand and killed her?"

Gracie's head lifted and she shuttered. Staring straight at Wanda, she answered coldly, without a stutter or her accent to mar her words. "You did."


	13. Choice

**Bobby was annoyed. **Fist clenched, teeth locked, and face ridged only proved his annoyance. "Damnit, John! Just tell us where she is!" 

John lay sprawled out across the medical bed. His arms were propped behind his head in a relaxing manner and his expression remained neutral. "No." He was neither being his usual smart ass self or overly resilient. He had openly told them what happened to Betsy, but whenever the subject of Rogue came along he locked up. They couldn't get a word out of him.

Ororo sighed. "John, why won't you tell us where Rogue is?"

"Because Bobby doesn't deserve to know. She's safe where she is and with her family, I don't see why you need to know any more."

"We are her family!" Bobby shouted, slamming his fist down onto the table beside John's head. John didn't even flinch.

"Not her real family. Besides, you all betrayed her. I don't blame her for not wanting to leave. Bobby, you're just a common, dirty-ass cheater. Ororo, you don't even like Rogue anymore-which is understandable. Even considering the cure was a huge mistake, wanting to be human; ugk, what a lowlife. I'd show her what she could still do, even with a mutation. I'd completely thrill her-" John seemed to come back to his rightful mind. "-so she deserves your hostility for that." He looked at Kitty who had remained silent. "And Kitty…so much for being best friends, huh?" Kitty flinched, "But I suppose that's how you X-Men go about things. Bobby did it to me too. He took my girl right out from under me. Guess it's a best friend thing up here."

"You don't understand the half of it." Bobby retaliated, getting even angrier.

John sat up. "No, see that's why I left. I do understand it. For all your X-Men righteousness, you're just a bunch of liars. When I came, I thought you'd be different Bobby. You were, for a time, but now you're just one of them. I'm leaving." John swung his legs over the edge, but Bobby blocked his way. John looked at him doubtfully. "You think you can stop me?"

"You're not leaving." Bobby angrily bit off. Surprisingly, John stopped.

"Fine. My family will come for me. They're not betrayers." He relaxed back down onto the operating table and closed his eyes. Bobby glared at John and pushed him slightly.

"Put your arms down."

"Locking me up, huh? Guess that's right. None of you have the guts to kill me." He freely moved his arms down and Bobby secured the metal straps around his wrists and ankles. With one last glare, Bobby turned to leave. Ororo turned to Kitty.

"Will you take the first shift in watching him?"

Kitty looked small and frightened. She fidgeted nervously. "Okay."

Ororo put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "I'll send Piotr down when he wakes up." With that, Ororo left. Kitty sat down on a nearby table and clenched her jaw to stop her teeth from trembling.

A long time ago, she would have called John one of her best friends. That time was long gone. He had always had a wild side in him, one that couldn't hope to be tamed by the calm atmosphere at Xavier's. She never expected John to stay long, but she wouldn't have guessed him to join Magneto's ragtag team of angry mutants.

"What's your excuse?"

Kitty knew better than to play along. It would have been better just to shut up and let John amuse himself, but Kitty actually wanted to talk to John about some things. "Excuse for what?" She asked back against her better judgment.

"For being with Bobby," John didn't even look at her.

Kitty faltered, "I-I never meant for it to happen."

"Oh," John's eyes flicked over her, "I mean, I guess that makes it fine to lie to your best friend."

"I never said that." Kitty protested weakly.

"But that's what it implies." John's gaze returned to the ceiling. "In any case, Rogue's happier where she is. Away from the X-Men."

"Rogue was kidnapped against her will. We're trying to save her and all you can do is sit there and tell us that she's happy?" Kitty was angry. "How would you even know? She won't be happy till we get her back home."

"'Cause everyone here is so much more understanding." John shot back, glaring at Kitty with enough conviction to scare her. "Look at you, claiming to be her friend while sucking on the boyfriend behind her back." Kitty was starting to get frustrated with his refusal to see anything past that fact. "Though, I don't suppose you much care. Rogue's been through a lot more than you know. You don't know her at all."

"And what about you? I thought I knew you. I knew you were always wild John, but I'd never guess that you'd join Magneto." Kitty exhaled. "If you cared so much, then why'd you leave?"

John went silent. Kitty breathed in slowly and tried to calm herself. A moment of silence passed between them.

John was the first to speak, as usual, in his cold, demeaning tone. "I wouldn't expect you to understand."

"I thought you were our friend, John. What happened to you?"

John lifted his gaze from her and closed his eyes. He didn't respond.

**----- **

**The world opened in dreary blurs. **Rogue blinked rapidly to clear her vision as she opened her eyes to the familiar room around her. Something was pounding. Was it her head? No, she didn't feel any pain. It was coming from beneath her.

"MARIE!" A heavy weight thumped down upon her chest as arms spread wide to wrap around her torso; she was squeezed firmly in a tight hug as all the air rushed out of her lungs.

"Ughhh," The weight shifted slightly and Rogue got a clear view of her attacker. "Gracie?" The word came out as an astonished gasp.

"Marie! Ah came ta save ya!" Gracie sprung off the bed and stood back, analyzing Rogue as Rogue did the same. Gracie had changed since she'd last seen her. Her usually short brown hair was longer, more to the style that Rogue preferred. She had grown taller over time, reaching up to a few inches shorter than Rogue. Her sparkling blue eyes had remained as brilliant as ever. With the exception of her missing white streaks and blue eyes, she looked just like Rogue. There was no mistaking her, it was Gracie. "What have ya done ta ya'r hair?! Look at this!" She fingered a white strand and pulled it out in front of Rogue's face. "It's white! An' ya'r pale! An'-An' look, look at this cleavage! Ya'r not flat anymore! An-"

"Hey, Ah was never flat!" It registered to Rogue that Gracie was in front of her. She sprung off her bed and jumped at the smaller girl. "GRACIE!" Both girls toppled to the ground again as Rogue tightly clung to her younger sister. Rogue's grip gradually slackened as she realized the implications of Gracie's presence. "Gracie?..."

"Ya crushin' mah stomach with ya excessive weight."

Rogue held a finger up to Gracie's mouth, suddenly appearing scared. "Gracie?"

Gracie answered in a more hushed tone, a whisper. "Ah think we've established it's meh. Do ya think ya could remove ya'self from mah crushed abdomen now?"

Rogue didn't move. It hit her. Gracie was here, in Wanda's room at Mystique's mansion. "Oh mah God!" Rogue rolled off Gracie and grabbed her arm. She pulled her into the adjoining bathroom and shut the door. Still in a hushed, fearful tone, Rogue began to babble. "Gracie, how in the world did ya get here? What if ya were caught? Ya could have been killed! Why'd ya come here? Ya in danger in this place, Ah don't want ya ta stay here. If Mystique finds out…"

Gracie interrupted her. "It's okay, ya'r friends already found meh. They said Ah could hide with ya in this room. They have a warnin' system set up. If anyone's comin', they'll jus' knock on the wall three times, like this." Gracie demonstrated by tapping the wall three times. Three echoing beats followed hers. "Hey, that was nifty." Gracie knocked again and three more beats echoed back.

A hard pounding came at the door. "Oh, shit!" Rogue spun around, eyes wide and fearful.

"Go hide in the shower!" Rogue opened the door just as the shower door behind her shut and the bedroom door in front of her opened. Mystique stood in the doorway.

"Rogue?"

"Ah'm here." Rogue replied, walking out of the bathroom.

"Rogue, we need to talk." Mystique pointed at Wanda's bed. Rogue sat down, biting her lip nervously. "It's about Logan."

"What abou' him?"

"You know he's your father, I assume." It was more of a statement than a question, but Mystique didn't continue so Rogue answered.

"Yeah…"

"He's currently tracking Creed down to this location."

For a moment, the world swam in front of Rogue's eyes. She blinked a few times to clear her vision. "He's comin' fohr meh?" Rogue couldn't disguise the hopeful tone in her voice. Mystique recognized it.

"Yes, he's coming for you. Most likely, he'll try to kidnap you and take you away from me. I was hoping…"

"That Ah'd send him off?"

"Not exactly." Mystique sat down next to Rogue on the bed. "…Rogue, I'm sorry for setting Wanda to watch you." The apology was so brash and unexpected; Rogue didn't know how to respond. "I'm just trying to be your mother, but I haven't had much experience in that department. I only want what's best for you." She paused before lightly adding. "I hope you're not too upset with Wanda either. You two got along so well."

There it was. 'I hope you're not too upset with Wanda either'. Was Mystique trying to be manipulative? Was she trying to be persuasive by fixing their broken relationship so that Mystique would have her informant again, or was she honestly just being motherly? Rogue didn't even want to know how Mystique knew that she and Wanda 'got along'. She was sure Mystique had other people watching her than Wanda.

"Ah…Ah haven't had the chance ta talk with her." Rogue replied honestly, not truly wanting to reveal too much.

Mystique seemed to regain composure in a way. She straightened and lost the over-attentive look. She completely changed the subject, which intrigued Rogue all the more. Was Mystique being honest for a minute? Or was it all an act? "I was hoping that when Logan came that you would persuade him to stay here."

"What?!" Rogue asked, alarmed.

"Rightfully, he is your father and if we are to be a family, I don't want anything between us or blocking our relationship. By law, we were never divorced."

This was new information for Rogue. Sure, she had obtained Mystique's memories and bits and pieces had come with it, but she had never purposely looked through Mystique's memories. Psyche Logan couldn't even find Mystique in her mind to tell her everything. "Ya were married?!"

"Are, actually. Yes, which is why I hoped you would help me with this. I don't suppose you'd want to return to the X-Men?"

Was Mystique offering her fair return to the X-Men? Or was this another ploy to gain Rogue's trust? The offer was tempting, if it was an offer at all. Rogue thought back to her friends at the mansion and grimaced. Storm didn't like her at all and probably would have preferred her to stay away. Piotr had always been nice to her, but he was reserved in himself too. They were friends, yes, but not close in a way. Then there was Kitty. Rogue's eyes watered slightly at the thought. Kitty had been her best friend. She had been so sure that Kitty adored Piotr so much that she didn't even notice other guys, but then…Kitty had betrayed her. Both Kitty and Bobby, Rogue's two closest friends, after John left, had secretly adored each other. And they had hid it from her.

Bobby had always been different. When Rogue arrived at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, she had thought she'd found her haven. Who would have thought such a place existed? For a run-away who had been starving and homeless, a mutant and friendless, it was heaven. She made friends pretty fast too. These kids didn't care about her mutation; they were freaks too, just like her. She remembered that first day in class vividly. John had tried to impress her-and he had, with his fire-manipulating power. It was amazing; Rogue had wished she had such a neat mutation as his. And then Bobby doused his flame, making it solid ice. It was then that he had turned to her, befriended her, becoming her very first friend since she ran away.

Things had escalated fast. He asked her out not a week afterwards and she accepted. He was everything she wanted, a protector, a caring, loving, boyfriend.

But then…Kitty, Rogue and him began to hang out together all the time. It started off little, just sharing jokes, but then Rogue had started to feel like the third wheel to a relationship that she was in. And then, the pond. She had seen them ice-skating, seen Kitty nearly fall and Bobby scoop her up, seen them kiss.

Rogue swallowed and switched her thoughts to her current location. She had a mother. Sure, an ex-terrorist, most likely manipulative, over-protective mother, but a mother all the same. And, she had friends, but these friends were not without flaws either. There was Wanda. She was sure Wanda was upset with her at the time, but that was rightly so. She shouldn't have threatened Wanda that way. But, all friends went through Rogue patches right? She'd have to talk with Wanda and fix their broken relationship, but it was one worth fixing. Rogue now knew that Wanda hadn't faked their friendship. Sure, she reported to her mother her activities and distresses, but only for her own good. Rogue was sorry for ever having yelled at Wanda and used her father's memories as a threat.

Not to forget, there was also Pietro and Victor Creed at the mansion. Victor had helped kidnap her and Rogue knew that Logan absolutely loathed him. And Pietro, who was kind of stuck up and arrogant, who stayed to himself mostly and highly disliked Rogue for their very first meeting. Pietro, whose busted relationship with Wanda was still a mystery to Rogue. Rogue almost wanted to stop the fight between them. Pietro was, after all, Wanda's blood related brother and despite their lack of showing care, it was also true that Wanda hadn't left him behind either.

And then, there was Remy. Remy, who had been the one to kidnap her in the first place, who always joked inappropriately, who was full of sexual desires and almost always tried to ploy them out with her, who was a drinker and a womanizer, who was her friend. He made her smile, made her laugh; he could even be serious at times. His oversized ego always needed puncturing. If she wasn't around to do that, who would? Not to mention she sometimes enjoyed his inappropriate humor. It was nice to be wanted, not in any kind of secret or hidden way, just openly desired. Remy never tried to hide anything. He even openly bragged about his women, yet he still remained at the mansion. He watched her always, not in a creepy, stalker way, but because he cared for her. Rogue wouldn't be far off in a guess that she was one of his only women 'friends'. Remy was there for her, in a way that Bobby never was. Even though there was nothing of that sort between them, as far as Rogue was concerned, she was beginning to depend on Remy far more than anybody else. She _needed_ Remy.

Put it that way, the decision was made. Rogue softly shook her head. "No, no mother. Ah want to stay here."

A small, genuine smile graced Mystique's features and made her for once, not appear as the manipulative mother she was, nor the scary, ass kicking ex-terrorist, but as a genuinely happy motherly figure. She was beautiful.

Tight arms wrapped around Rogue's small frame. Before she knew what had happened, Mystique was hugging her. Mystique. Hug. Her? Numbly, Rogue returned the hug, feeling extremely out of place. "Thank you." It was silently whispered into Rogue's ear, so soft that Rogue almost didn't catch it.

Without saying any more, Mystique spun out of the room, leaving Rogue standing there with a weird, unusually satisfying feeling. Rogue lightly sat down again on the bed, almost dizzy.

"What in tha world was all that about? Ya called her motha? An' this 'Logan' father? An' ya want ta stay here? Wha—" Gracie continued to rant, confused and a little scared, but Rogue wasn't listening.

Something was wrong. Without her doing, her arm lifted experimentally and dropped back limply to her side. Her mouth opened suddenly and shut before anything was said. A leg followed and she twiddled her fingers, all without her command.

Gracie stopped her rant and looked at Rogue strangely. "What's wrong with ya?"

But Rogue couldn't answer her. Her mouth wasn't under her command anymore. "So this is how it works…" The voice wasn't hers. It was deep, manly, but with her same southern twinge.

Rogue fought against the new, scary feeling that raced through her body. She pushed back hard and gained control of her mouth. "What is—Gracie, somethin's wrong with meh." Fighting the force, Rogue managed to lift her head to stare at her sister. "Help—get help."

But the force fought back, and it was stronger. She found herself standing up, testing her limbs, flexing her muscles. Her eyes fell on Gracie. "So this is ya'r sister." Rogue's legs started walking over to the nearby dresser. She opened the drawer and drew out a long blade that she hadn't even known was in there. Her fingers twiddled experimentally with the blade as her eyes flicked back to her sister. "Gracie, was it?"

"M-Marie?" The force in Rogue guided her forward. Gracie started backing up. "M-Marie s-stop it." Rogue didn't stop.

"No, no, no. Ya see, Ah'm not such a dirty, corrupted mutant as her," Rogue's hand flew out and grabbed the front of Gracie's t-shirt. She hauled her close, flipped her around and held the knife to her throat. "Tha name's Secon. Congratulations, Gracie. Ya'r hostage number one."

**_A/N: Unfortunately, yes, I am an author that loves leaving my readers with suspenseful moments. But, fortunately, I do not like waiting long with such moments, as I too, am eager to see the response of what happens in those moments. So, I hope you forgive me for my obvious joy in leaving you with open-ended chapters, but I hope that my rapid updating and longer-than-most chapters will persuade you to leave a review. Thank you! _**


	14. Vision

_A/N: Ahh! Thank you so much Roguechere! Sorry guys, I reposted the last chapter with this one. Here's the real next chapter._

------

_**"JOHN!"**_

_"I'm coming," John hurriedly threw the picture of the smiling, kind woman back into the drawer. It would do no good to make his father wait any longer. He was already mad enough._

_John hurried down the stairs and halted several feet in front of his father. The crude man was swaying, his lazy blue eyes were unfocused and redness showed at their corners. His hand swayed as he pointed an accusatory finger at John. He was drunk, again._

_"I told you to walk the damn dog!" To emphasize the statement, he kicked the lazy mutt that lounged carelessly under the table. The dog yelped and then growled lowly, but didn't move._

_"I did!" John frantically pulled at the dog. "Don't hurt Skamp, he didn't do anything!" Skamp trotted next to John and laid down again, tired._

_The edges of his father's eyes narrowed and he screamed in fury. "Don't you give me lip, boy! Don't you ever talk to me like that!" He grabbed John's shoulders and shook him. "You understand me, boy?" He didn't even pause to give John time to respond. "I said, do you understand me boy?!"_

_It would have been worse to answer, John knew, so he remained silent. His father stopped shaking him long enough to backhand him harshly. John flew from his grip and landed haphazardly on his side, bruised and aching. "You're just like your mother, boy. Never could do anything for herself, she couldn't. I bring you food to your stomach and a warm bed at night, what more do you want?" He began rambling to himself. John slowly backed away on the floor. "I tell you, I give this goddamn family everything! Who takes care of the mutt? Who keeps you alive, you ungrateful brute!" He turned again and spotted John slowly edging away on the floor._

_"Don't you go anywhere, you useless punk! Did I say I was done talking to you? NO! Goddamnit, show a little respect around me boy! Don't act the way you do with your friends!" _

_John didn't have friends. Not anymore. Since his mother's death, he was restricted from leaving the house. That didn't mean he didn't do it, but all his friends had abandoned him since then. He had become a hallowed out shell of himself. And his father had just been angrier._

_His father glared at him. "Get out of my sight, boy! I don't want to see your scummy face around here anymore! Go on, to your room! NOW!" John scampered to his feet, but before he could do as his father asked, his father grabbed him roughly. Face only a few inches apart, he could smell the stench of liquor on his father's breath. "Do you know what I sacrifice for you, son? Do you? Answer me, boy!"_

_John preferred to stay quiet, but when directly told to speak, he had to. It would have been worse if he didn't. "No, sir."_

_"I gave up my life for you boy! For you and that useless woman! How could she-ARG, DAMNIT BOY! You're just as ungrateful as her!" He pushed John back again and John fell. His father advanced on him. "Say it! Tell me you're not as ungrateful as her!"_

_"No, sir. You're right. I'm ungrateful."_

_"I knew it! I KNEW IT! You brute! You dirty, useless, good-for-nothing sack of hash! I oughta-I oughta show you!" He grabbed a lighter from the counter and lit a cigar. "You're pathetic boy. That's what you are, pathetic. Don't you move boy, I'm going to show you how to be a man." He flicked on the lighter and held it close to the cigar._

_John hated him. He hated him so much. He'd been planning on running away for a long time, if only he could escape. He'd be free. John clenched his teeth and envisioned him dying in horrible ways, picturing the cigar catching on fire and burning his hand, sizzling his hairy arms all the way up his arm until his clothes caught on fire. And then he'd scream, roll around, trying to put it out, but the fire fed upon itself. It would eat away his entire being and then take the damn house with it. He'd never have to see his father again._

_And that's just what happened the day John became Pyro._

_-------_

_**He remembered the day well. **__Down in the hospital wing, he had heard about the new girl. Damn the blasted man Xavier, told him to give her a tour. A tour? Pyro, give a tour? It was ridiculous. This 'haven' was a prison. Xavier's rules of helping humanity and mutantkind alike were bullshit. They'd never happen._

_"Hello?" No one answered. Annoyed, John flicked his lighter open and closed. His lighter. The lighter he had taken from his father on that fateful day. It was his trademark. John entered the room and scanned the area. No girl was present, but someone else was there._

_As John approached the table, his breath hitched in his throat. Hairy armed, bristle-faced, short and muscular. The man looked just like his father. John's hands tightened into fists. He examined the man and found dogtags hanging on a chain from his neck. 'Wolverine' John snorted. He hated the man already, just for reminding him of his father._

_"Hello?"_

_John turned. The most beautiful, captivating girl he'd ever seen stood just behind him. Nervously crossing her clothed arms in front of her chest, she shivered as if she were cold. She was slender, with all the right curves in all the right areas. Her face was angelic, brown hair framed a tentative, uncertain look. Her chin was the perfect shape, not too prominent, but curved just right. She was an angel. Green eyes shone wetly as she examined him in turn._

_"Are ya John?" A soft, Mississippian accent shone through her nervous voice. John genuinely smiled._

_------_

_**"Look man, I really like this girl." **__John wasn't even used to feeling this way. It had taken all his guts just to go up to Bobby and ask him about it._

_Bobby shrugged. "I don't know. She really was lookin' at me in there. I don't think you've got the stuff for her."_

_"Bobby come on, I'm being serious. Don't do anything, alright?"_

_"Alright, alright." Bobby slugged his shoulder. "I got your back. I won't try anything with her, I promise."_

------

**John awoke from the nightmares with a start, but then quickly relaxed back down, playing off that he was still asleep. **Nobody seemed to notice he had awoken. A softmumbling to his right could barely be distinguished above the ringing in his ears. John strained his hearing to listen.

"Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on her, a sinner. Protect her on her path and guide her with your light. Our father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come-"

John's eyebrows crossed and he couldn't resist the urge to open them and stare at the source of the voice. A completely indigo, demon-looking mutant was sitting next to him in a metal, fold-out chair. His tail swished back and forth slowly, almost in tune to his words. He was fiddling with a dark brown rope that had knots tied all around it. "What are you doing?"

The demon, Kurt, if John's memory served, opened his eyes and looked at John. "Praying." Kurt replied simply, watching his newly awaken companion.

"What for?"

"For _meine schwester_, ve's in trouvle at ze moment."

John wore a confused expression. "Your sister? I'm not that familiar with German."

"Rogue."

"Rogue's your sister?!" John asked, astounded. He hadn't known Rogue had a brother, much less a demon-looking, teleporting mutant brother.

"_Ja_." Kurt nodded.

John absorbed this with a blink and then relaxed back down. "You don't need to worry. Rogue's been through a few rough scrapes, but she's fine."

Kurt appeared intrigued. "Voo know about her?"

"Yeah, I know about her. Last I saw of her, she was fine. Granted, that was before Carol's attempted capture, but still, Carol never came back, so I'm assuming that Rogue won." John wore a halfway lopsided, hesitant smile. "I always knew that girl deserved more credit than what others gave her."

Kurt was almost speechless. _Almost._ "But, voo know vhere ve is? Voo's been vatching her?"

"Sure," John replied, carefree. "She's doing alright, she is. Training a lot harder too. They're pressing her down there."

"Down vhere? Vill voo tell me vhere ve is?"

John glanced at Kurt. "Nope, can't say I will. But, if I ever go up to talk to her next time, I'll tell her you're concerned."

Kurt shrank back into his seat. He would get nothing out of John. Closing his eyes, he began his prayer again where he had left off. "Thy will be done. On earth as it is in heaven…"

John sighed and lay heavily back against his cold bed, waiting for his rescue.

-------

**Secon, in current control of Rogue's body as she fought back against him, easily forced Gracie down the steps.** He held her out in front of him, with the blade securely tucked under her chin so that, even if she gulped largely, the blade would cut into her throat. Gracie tried to suppress her trembling, in fear that she might accidentally scrape herself against the sharp metal pressed up against her skin.

From Remy's memories, Secon had obtained the information that the basement opened wider into a sort of medical bay, much like the X-Men's mansion. He guessed that Carol would be held there. Apparently, Mystique had strong enough withstraints to even hold his powerful sister. That wouldn't matter; Secon had gleaned off of Remy's tactics with locking mechanisms.

Gracie opened her mouth, perhaps to scream or otherwise make a highly unwanted noise. Secon shoved the blade slightly into her skin, forming a shallow cut across her throat. "Don't make a sound." Gracie choked back the noise and Secon felt water drip through his gloves to lightly touch his fingers that held the blade. Gracie was crying.

Rogue's usually dominating mind jolted at the feel of wetness. She was fighting him…but she was too weak to take complete control back. Rogue strategically began aiming for specific parts of her body, in hopes of diffusing the situation.

Secon had just hit the landing of the first floor when he stopped dead in his tracks. A familiar form was pounding away at nails against a wall directly in front of him. He hadn't turned yet.

Suddenly, Rogue lashed out with all the strength she could muster and gained momentary control. Quickly throwing down the blade, she desperately cried out. "Remy, help!" Secon angrily pushed back at her and she lost the small amount of control she had gained, but the damage was done. Ripping off her glove, Secon threw the cloth down and held his hand close to Gracie's face. Gracie flinched back, but couldn't shrink away from it because he was holding her tightly with his other arm wrapped around her stomach.

Remy turned and his usually cheerful smile dropped. "_Chere, _what are y' doin'?"

"Back off!" Secon demanded, knowing how tricky the thief could be. Remy's hand slipped towards his overcoat's pocket, but Secon followed the movement. "Stop or Ah'll absorb ever' last bit of life from her frail an' broken body." Remy's hand froze.

"Look, Roguey-"

"It's not her, it's Secon! He's usin' Rogue's bod-" She couldn't get out any more before Secon's only free hand, the ungloved one, closed in around Gracie's mouth.

"Ah said shut up!" Gracie's knees went weak and her face paled. Livid veins popped out on her face as her eyes widened. She wanted to scream, but couldn't get the air forced out of her lungs. Her energy was rapidly escaping her, leaving her tired and drained. Black spots danced in front of her vision. Her whole body screamed in protest.

Various images assaulted Secon's mind as the connection opened up. Secon wasn't ready for the new wave of her personality and he faltered back, still keeping his tight grip around her stomach. Secon's grip around her stomach tightened as he let go of Gracie's mouth and stepped back. Bits and pieces of Gracie fluttered over his dominating mind as he tried to find his way through the mess of thoughts. He pushed hard against the onslaught, and suddenly, there was nothing.

A scream was heard from inside his mind as he directed the new onslaught of memories towards Rogue. Unsuspecting and already fighting to gain control, Rogue wasn't prepared to battle against a whole new personality, that of her sister's. Memories clashed and formed as one. Shared memories became a blur. They had been close once, lived together in the same house and experienced much of the same things, so much to the point that Rogue couldn't depict her own memories from Gracie's.

But more than just memories came with it. A new set of experiences also joined the fray, making Rogue more confused than ever. She saw herself standing high and tall on a pile of rubble, morbidly staring at her blood-soaked hands, but Rogue knew she had never done that. She spun around, in only lacy lingerie in front of—Rogue faltered. The memories were not her own and they couldn't possibly be Gracie's either. She'd never done half the things she was seeing.

The clash of memories and new, depicting pictures completely overwhelmed Rogue. She was buried under a new psyche, unable to fight back against Secon or even detach herself from her sister's mind.

Secon's falter and hesitance was all Remy needed. He slipped his hand into his jacket pocket and pulled out his traditional pack of cards. He didn't want to necessarily hurt Rogue, but he had to make sure Secon went down. Only halfway charging two cards, Remy flicked his wrists smoothly and both cards found their mark directly in front of Rogue's feet. Secon fell, still tightly holding on to Gracie and bringing her down with him, and, with a groan that sounded all-too-familiar and not very masculine, Remy pounced on him.

Roughly grabbing the back of the struggling Gracie's shirt, Remy angled his feet so that he'd only end up hitting Rogue in the side. Unfortunately, Secon wasn't all talk. He had learned much from scanning Remy's mind. He saw the maneuver Remy was trying to pull and yanked Gracie over to his side just as Remy landed the kick against Gracie's abdomen. Gracie sputtered and coughed, bringing her own arms down to cover her stomach. She looked like she was about to be sick. Desperately, she began clawing at Rogue's gloved arm that held her in place.

Remy wasted no time crying over spilt milk. With a quick, "Sorry, _chere,_" He continued pressing his attack. Secon may have learned maneuvers from him in Rogue's mind, but he was still at a great disadvantage. Rogue was a fighter, but Remy was stronger and faster than her, and, he was betting he had more endurance. Being trained among the world's most widely known and feared thieves, he had picked up quite a few abilities.

Without even breaking stride, Remy quickly jumped up and again reached inside his jacket. Only this time, a short bo-staff came out. He tapped the button that unleashed the trigger to extend his bo-staff and was rewarded with a grunt from Rogue as the staff extended into her chest. Still in the same aerial move, he flicked down the other end of the bo-staff and rapped Rogue against the side of her head.

Rogue's head snapped to the side and her grip on Gracie slackened slightly. Taking full advantage of this, Gracie lunged forward and bit down hard into Rogue's arm. Secon screamed wildly and thrashed from his position on the floor, giving Gracie enough lee-way to slip out of his grasp. She crawled off to the side, unsteadily climbing to her feet and nearly falling again before the wall became her support. One hand flew to her head while the other one groped uncertainly at her throat where the shallow cut was still bleeding.

Remy landed heavily on Rogue's chest with both feet and all the air rushed out of her lungs. Remy promptly sat down, letting his bo-staff drop at his side, he flung his knees out from under him so that they splayed out over her legs, preventing any thrashing leg movements and he held down her shoulders, exerting enough pressure into just the right spot so that it'd be extremely painful to move her arms at all. Remy's carefree smile was back in place.

"Dis how we met, _oui?_ Y' really make Remy dink dat y' prefer de bottom, _chere._"

Secon futilely tried moving his arms and yelped at the pain in his attempt to do so. Jaw set, fists clenched, his eyes glittered. "Ah'm going-" the sound of screeching metal was impossible to miss, "ta save," one of the nails that Remy had just been pounding away at flew out of the wall, "mah sister!" The nail flew at the back of Remy's head at an increasingly fast rate. It would drive right through his skull in only a few seconds, but if Remy moved then Secon would be free again.

Remy re-angled himself on Secon so that the nail would miss its target, instead hitting his shoulder. At least, that's what he hoped would happen. The nail never struck.

A groan was heard from behind him. Remy pivoted to see what had happened and his jaw slackened. Pietro stood behind him, tall and imposing in the hallway, a nail struck through his palm. Pietro, the speedy jackass that Remy hated, had saved his life.

Remy had only a minute to reflect on the irony before he felt his hands going cold. He returned his gaze to Rogue in time to see white frost flowing from the fingers of her ungloved hand to gently slide against his palm, cooling his hand, attempting to freeze it. "Sorry 'bout dis, Roguey." Remy twisted so that he'd still have enough leverage to hold her down and he abruptly elbowed her in the throat.

Secon sputtered and choked, the white mist stopped descending from her fingers. Secon coughed vehemently. By the time his coughing attack was done, he glared at Remy harshly. "Let her go." Remy commanded, Secon smiled.

"No." With that, the blade that Secon previously dropped lifted from the floor. Instead of shooting at anyone though, it hovered in the air, right above Rogue's heart. Secon's smile was pure evil. "You let meh go. Now."

Gracie fell back to her knees, crying softly to herself. "Secon, please! Don't-Don't hurt her. T-There's other ways o-of gettin' what ya want." Gracie cried out, aching and tired.

Secon's eyes briefly flashed over to Gracie. There was something hidden behind the hostile gaze. Regret? "Ya'r one of them now, Gracie. Ah don't compromise with ya'r kind."

"Ya own sister, Secon! S-She's one of us too! It kills her-It jus' kills her every time. Y-Ya generalize against us, Secon an' it kills her." Gracie collapsed in on herself, head hung low against her chest, body slackened. She didn't have the energy.

Secon's eyes flashed dangerously. "She understands! Ya don't know! Ya don't know how hard it was fohr her ta grow up tha way she is! Ya don't know how she loathes it!"

Gracie didn't seem like she was going to answer, so Remy did, quietly and hesitantly. "Maybe…Maybe y' don't know, _homme._"

At the sound of Remy's voice, Secon's eyes set. He would hear none of it, not from the likes of filth like them. They were poison to the world. He had to save his sister from it. "Enough!" Secon shouted, outraged. "Get offa' meh or Ah'll kill her!"

Surprising him yet further, as Remy's grip slackened, Pietro dove down at the blade, reaching for it. The blade tilted and would have impaled him, had not Remy stood up and he instead collided with him. Remy stumbled forward, somersaulting over the hovering blade. He landed easily and his gaze locked with Pietro. They were even now.

Secon stood up, unchallenged as he addressed the three of them. "If anyone follows, Ah swear ta God, Ah'll drive this blade straight through her heart."

"In de basement, lower floors." Remy added. Secon didn't even look at him before stalking off. For a moment after his departure, nobody moved. Then, Gracie turned and stared at Remy.

"Ya have a plan?"

"'M hopin' so. Speedy," Pietro slightly cringed at the nickname, Remy corrected himself. While they were on a roll, he might as well be civil to Pietro. At least for the time being. "o' Quicksilver, was it?" He didn't wait for an answer. "Y' dink y' could find Mystique fast an' see if de resident psychic is here yet? We're goin' to need a mind-toyer in dis mix." Pietro's gaze suddenly melted.

"Shit! Remy, Wanda's in the basement!"

Remy's jaw tightened in a way he was not used to and did not particularly like. No sardonic humor marked his usually joking tone. "Den hurry." Pietro zipped away. Remy picked up his fallen bo-staff and retracted it, tucking it safely into his trench coat. He made his way over to Gracie and pulled her to her feet. She wobbled unsteadily. "Y' okay?"

"Yeah." Gracie shook her head from side to side, "Ah jus'-Ah feel really weird. Empty, almost."

Remy nodded in understanding. "Roguey's touch will do dat. Now _chere,_ 'M sorry 'bout dis, but y' gotta stay here."

Gracie immediately protested. "No! Ah gotta help Marie, she's in trouble!" She fought against his grip, but being weakened already and not very strong in the first place, it was an easily won fight.

Remy led her into one of the rooms, half dragging her as he went. "'M sorry,_ fille,_ y' don't have de trainin' we do. De best ding y' can do fo' Rogue right now is t' be safe." Not too harshly, Remy pushed her inside the nearest bedroom. She lunged at the door, but Remy was too fast. He heard a loud thump as she collided with the door.

Picking up a nail off the ground, Remy wedged it in the lock and shoved it through the softer wood of the door. Satisfied that she couldn't get out, Remy left.

Gracie slammed against the door again as she heard his retreating footsteps leave. The doorframe shook, but remained solidly in place. Gracie rubbed her arm where she had hit the door. Feeling disheartened and dejected, she paced the room aimlessly. Her stomach ached where Secon had squeezed her and Remy had accidentally kicked her. Her whole body was tired. She had never before experienced Rogue's mutation first hand. It had been a painful one.

Gracie turned her gaze to the floor as a single tear escaped her eyes. Rogue was in trouble and she couldn't even do anything to help. She had been used as a hostage and even botched her kidnapping attempt. She was useless.

A searing pain raced across her forehead. Gracie's knees gave out from under her as a flood of images invaded her mind. Her hands flew to her head as the pain increased with the faster splay of images. She saw the immediate future. Down in the basement, she gasped. The process took less than five minutes, the proceedings being raced through her mind at a high speed.

Even before the process was done, Gracie's eyes shot open and she lunged at the door, needing to find someone, to tell them. She could feel her already-weak limbs draining of what little strength they had left. She slammed into the door and the frame shook again, but remained solid. "No." Gracie gasped. It was meant to come out as a scream, but only was a whisper. Already weakened, the pain in her mind increased by a tenfold. Darkness edged at her vision, ready to claim her at a second's notice, Gracie desperately fought against it. "Marie…" The name couldn't even be heard beyond the door's frame. Gracie collapsed in a heap at the door. Her vision remained unknown.


	15. Crumbling Down

"**Would you shut up?" **Wanda snapped angrily, annoyed at the girl's consecutive chatter. She could sympathize with the fact that the girl was the victim of the scenario and that Wanda had been the one to put her down, but she was just being plain annoying at this point.

Carol glared at her. "No, you shut up!" Wanda hadn't said anything before. "When I get out of these bonds, I'm going to-"

"I don't care what you're going to do. You're not getting out of those bonds, so just shut the hell up already before I knock you out myself." Carol fell silent for the moment, staring daggers at Wanda.

Wanda was pissed. It wasn't all Carol's doing, but her anger had been taken off on the girl. She was mad at Remy for commanding her around, mad at Rogue for threatening her, mad at Mystique for hurting her, mad at Pietro for his insistence in trying to fix Erik's broken relationship with her, mad at Gracie for her 'future prediction' in which she played one of the main parts in, even mad at herself for letting it all get to her. After the incident with her father, Wanda had sworn to never let anyone else in. She simply wouldn't care about anyone except herself, and she had been getting along fine. Until Rogue came.

She didn't know how it had happened and she couldn't trace the progression of trust between them if you asked her, but it was there. From hating the girl and nearly killing her on their very second meeting, she befriended Rogue, trusted her. And now, she was here, regretting her decision, cursing everything she could think of to curse, and more alone than ever. Broken trust was harder than no trust at all. Her trust had been shattered.

Sure, she had lied to Rogue. But she hadn't faked anything, the way Rogue accused her of faking their friendship. She had been genuinely concerned for the girl, cared for her, and with that had come a grudging connection to Remy too. Wanda had just been doing her job by reporting to Mystique. She hadn't even told the woman everything. At first, she had, but, as time progressed, the details thinned out more and more to the point that Mystique began to grow angry with her for lack of information. Wanda knew that Mystique had gone to Rogue earlier that day to discuss some things with her. It only made her more upset.

And then, there was Gracie's prophecy. The innocent little girl that had glared at her and backed away as she entered the room, who spat at her as if she were less, who had 'seen' a vision of her killing Rogue. Wanda didn't know how to react to Gracie's vision. She had stared at Gracie, almost uncomprehendingly, until called down by Mystique to watch the prisoner. Gracie's eyes bore into her back; she could feel her heavy glare as she left the room, almost burning into her skin.

It was understandable that Gracie would hate her, that didn't disturb Wanda. Her vision did. Wanda had organized a group to kill Rogue? Were Gracie's visions of the true future, or only possibilities? Wanda was a master of altering possibilities, but if Gracie's vision was fate…How had the girl even known of her? Her visions couldn't be true. Wanda would never kill Rogue…would she?

Wanda hated the fact that she herself questioned the outcome, it only made her angrier. She closed her eyes and tried to shut out her thoughts of Gracie and her vision, of Rogue entirely.

Carol made that difficult. "What is the purpose of holding me here?" Carol's voice had calmed down, lost some of its anger. She seemed almost resigned.

Wanda stared at the young girl. She looked about the same age as Rogue, maybe even younger. Why did Carol hate Rogue so much? "Because, you'll either return to your boss or try to attack Rogue again if we let you go."

Carol stared at Wanda uncomprehendingly for a minute before blinking. "Rogue…? Is that what Marie's calling herself these days?" There was a hard edge to her tone that warned off any response. Wanda didn't much care.

"Yeah," Wanda's eyes flicked over Carol's tense body, "You two have quite a history, from what I hear."

"That bitch is gunna pay." Carol's anger was back.

Wanda casually leaned back against the wall, in an observing, careless manner, she conversed. "Must have been something pretty big for you to attack her like that. From what I hear, it was just an accident."

"It wasn't an accident!" Carol shot back venomously, glaring at Wanda with a hint of insanity in her crazy eyes. "She purposely hurt him, even after I warned her. Secon was right about your race."

"Excuse me for noting," Wanda interjected politely, not all together meaning to be offensive. "I couldn't help but notice that you too, seem to be a mutant."

Carol spat disgustedly. "Don't call me that." She hissed lowly, "I'm not like you."

Wanda raised an eyebrow. "And here I thought we only had problems with humans hating mutants. What makes you different from me, other than your nearly insane desire for Rogue's blood?"

"I was raised among humans. I was raised with morals."

"Lots of mutants were raised among humans with morals." Wanda pointed out logically.

"Not like me." Carol gritted her teeth. "I had once thought that there were others like me out there, others that just wanted to fit in. But I was wrong." Her fists unconsciously clenched. "Secon was right all along. I owe him my life for saving me from following in my fellow mutants' footsteps."

Wanda's eyebrow remained raised high. How corrupted this girl had become from a brother that hated her own kind. She was willing to throw away her life for revenge against a girl who had 'betrayed' her. Otherwise confirming Secon's views, she had no proof of her long-stepped claims. She was running on pure hatred towards her own people. "Did you ever think…" Wanda started hesitantly, unwilling to further enrage the girl, but wanting to alter her opinion just the same. "That Secon might have been wrong? That you had been misled in your hate? Was it not your brother that attacked Rogue in the first place?"

"She retaliated!" Carol shouted, enraged. "She used her power against him! Against a powerless human!"

"Maybe it wasn't her choice to do so."

Carol's face had turned bright red in fury. Her clenched fists strained against her adamantium bonds. "She killed him!" Tears sprung to Carol's eyes and gently rolled down her flushed cheeks. "The stupid bitch killed him! I warned her! I warned her and sh-she killed him!" Carol fumbled with her words, beginning to stutter. "H-He never woke up f-from the coma. H-His heart stopped on the fifth day. He left me…alone." Carol broke down into sobs that wracked her whole frame, shaking her body, almost appearing to struggle against her bonds. In that moment, instead of the vengeance seeking, half mad mutant she had been, she turned into a frail, broken girl.

Wanda didn't know what to say to the girl. Before she could even open her mouth, someone else spoke. "Wanda. We need ta talk."

Wanda spun to see Rogue approaching her. _Shit._ Not wanting to hurt Carol any more than necessary, Wanda uncertainly opened her mouth and shuffled to the side. "I don't think now's the best time, Rogue…"

But Rogue didn't stop coming. Carol half-turned and her eyes fell upon Rogue. They hardened and the tears stopped. Rogue would pay.

Secon walked straight up to Wanda. "No, now's tha only tahme." He pulled back her fist and punched Wanda hard in her already bruised face. Secon had the advantage of surprise. Wanda reeled back and fell hard to the floor. She slid back a few feet against the smooth tile before turning her head back towards Rogue's figure.

"What the hell?" Secon kept approaching. Wanda slid forward a few feet against the tile and preformed a wide, sweeping kick. Secon's feet were swept out from under him and he fell harshly to the floor. Wanda lost no time in jumping on Secon and pinning him down. Briefly letting go of one arm for a minute, she slapped Secon across the face, trying to bring sense back to the girl she suspected to be Rogue.

Secon took immediate advantage of his released limb. He quickly and efficiently jabbed at her other restraining elbow. A spasm passed through Wanda's arm and made her hold on Secon waver. Secon, with both arms free, landed a punch to Wanda's stomach.

Without the support of her arms, Wanda tilted haphazardly and fell to the side. Secon lost no time in completely switching their positions, so that he was on top of Wanda, pinning down her arms with his knees and pressing his feet against her inner, upper thighs. Wanda was unable to move her arms or legs, she was trapped.

Eyes narrowed, she began chanting incantations that meant nothing to Secon. Secon reached down to touch her bare, upper arm, but he was far too late by that time. A stream of red, fiery light spilled forth from Wanda's fingers and surrounded him, roughly pushing him off Wanda and sending a jolt through his whole body that made his limbs spasm uncontrollably. His head slammed down hard against the solid tile.

Wanda quickly took advantage. She held Secon's hands together at his back and dragged him to his feet. She slammed him against the nearby wall with enough force to make the tile crack. "Get a grip, Rogue! What is wrong with you?"

Secon struggled for another minute of so before relaxing completely. "There's nothin' wrong with meh." The blade that he had used to threaten his own life with lifted from its position on the ground where he had dropped it upon entering. "But Ah can't say tha same fohr ya, _mutant_." The word was spit out like a curse. The blade aimed its course at Wanda's hands.

Wanda would know the sound of metal being manipulated anywhere. She grew up to the sound, she would never mistaken it. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the blade lift up and aim for her hands that held Secon. At the last second, she spun out of the way and the blade deeply embedded into Rogue's palm, so far that the tip could be seen protruding from the front.

Secon howled and, with lightning fast reflexes that Wanda could barely follow, he turned and reached out with his uninjured, ungloved hand that Wanda hadn't previously seen. He tightly wrapped his fingers around Wanda's throat.

Wanda didn't even have the time to realize what was happening before Secon grabbed her throat in an encompassing grip. She couldn't get words out to hex Secon and her energy was rapidly draining. It felt as though her entire being was being sucked out of her, like a giant vacuum had decided to suck her away. Her vision blurred and faded, all she felt was the pain.

Secon funneled Wanda's incoming memories, her personality and her very being directly to Rogue. Rogue hadn't even recovered from Gracie's clashed personality and only found herself buried under more thoughts, more memories, another personality as Secon smartly avoided the clash.

She didn't know how he did it, but she didn't have much time to reflect on it. Secon had somehow formed a pathway for the new psyche to follow and it directly smashed into her, confusing her all the more, stealing away her own identity to that of Wanda and Gracie. Even if Rogue had known how to funnel the memories into another psyche, she would never have put that pressure against one of her mind's remnant psyches. Secon was invading her very person, crushing three different people into one. Rogue was hopelessly lost amid the chaos of her own mind.

Secon was doing just fine. When Wanda went limp he threw her to the side carelessly and turned his eyes on Carol. "Betraying bitch!" Carol yelled, having just witnessed Rogue betray yet another friend. Some people never learned.

"Carol, it's meh. It's Secon."

Carol blinked, as if not truly believing it. "Prove it."

Secon smiled. Carol was always smart. "Rogue gets these psyches when she touches someone. Tha psyche of tha person, when she touched meh, she got mah personality in her, mah personality an' memories, all of meh. Ah've simply taken over her mahnd."

"I don't believe you."

Secon grinned. "Ya always were smart. Okay here, Ah'll relay a memory fohr ya. Ah found ya when Ah was ten. Ya were alone in a dirty street, havin' jus' been attacked by a human. Ya were all by ya'self, feelin' bad because ya'd accidentally knocked them unconscious. An'-"

Carol blinked again. "Secon?"

"Yeah, it's meh."

A plan was forming in Carol's mind. She knew Rogue would have obtained Secon's memories in the absorption, she had just been told that from Rogue herself. She did not believe it was Secon before her, but Rogue, trying to trick her. Carol wouldn't fall for such nonsense. She knew better.

There was one way that Carol would be able to scar Rogue forever. She'd always be there to pay Rogue back for ruining her life. Secon was dead. Her life didn't matter, simply that she'd get revenge for Secon. It was a long shot, but mutations always had backlash. She had to believe it'd be true. It was the only way to truly get revenge for Secon.

Carol forced tears to her eyes. It wasn't too hard. The mere thought of Rogue or Secon brought tears to her eyes. "Secon!"

Secon nodded frivolously and began unlatching Carol's bonds with a sharp piece of metal. When he was done, Carol hopped off the medical table and nearly fell. She gave her legs about a minute or so and then turned back to Secon.

Secon jumped at Carol and encompassed her in a hug. Carol hugged back. Perfect. Rogue couldn't get away now. Carol snaked her arm upwards and moved down the back of Rogue's shirt. She firmly pressed her hand against Rogue's skin.

"Carol?" Carol didn't respond. Secon began to get desperate. "Carol, what are you doing? Stop!" He struggled, but it was far too late. Carol had him in a death hold that could not be broken.

It hurt. Carol grimaced as the process began. It was a painful one. The connection to Rogue opened up and began sucking away at her. She glanced down at her arm and flinched. The veins in her arm were bright against her suddenly pale skin. All her energy was draining. Carol's eyes widened and her mouth opened in an agony-filled scream. But Carol kept her head, this had to happen. She realized that if the drain continued, she would lose all the power in her limbs. With a last burst of effort that was sapped up as soon as she made it, she pushed forward and brought them both to the ground.

Sprawled on top of Rogue, she clung as if her life depended on keeping the connection. It was getting increasingly harder. She could feel unconsciousness creeping up on her, like a snake ready to strike. Another scream tore through her throat as unconsciousness finally claimed her. She fell limply across Rogue, the connection still going.

Secon had not expected the sudden strike at his mind. He did not have the time to make a connecting tunnel to Rogue's mind. Carol's mind invaded his own, overcoming him, confusing him to the point of questioning his own identity. It was a process that Rogue was used to, but he was not. Carol's mind crashed into his, crushing him under a wave of emotions, personality, a being that was not his own.

Secon lost all control of Rogue's body in the sudden attack of Carol against his mind. He couldn't even distinguish person from person, let alone hold back against Rogue and separate himself. Rogue herself surfaced again as the head of her mind, but the confusion did not stop there.

She was still wrestling with both Wanda and Gracie's personalities. Secon's receding mind brought forth Carol to the forefront with her, so that she had to battle against Carol's mind too. Four different people all fought, to separate themselves, to gain control, to distinguish against another's minds. Rogue was hopelessly lost in the midst of all the thoughts.

Carol lay limply against her, but Rogue wasn't aware of it. She was too busy trying to ward off the other personalities in her mind so that she couldn't even focus on the world outside her. Tears unconsciously streamed down her cheeks and splashed onto the floor next to her, but Rogue wouldn't even have cared if she knew.

Gracie's personality and memories were confusing because she had shared in many of those exact experiences with her and it was hard to determine which were her own. The memories clashed together, forming as one so that Rogue had no idea where her own experiences ended and where Gracie's began.

Wanda was also difficult to handle. The girl had lived through so many nightmarish experiences that Rogue couldn't see how she was still there. No wonder the woman didn't trust anyone. Wanda's mind was easier to determine from Gracie's because she had known the woman for a shorter period of time and didn't share a past with her, but it was still harsh because her nightmare memories were constantly brought to the forefront, overwhelming Rogue with the pure hatred against Wanda.

And lastly, there was Carol. Carol had both grown up in the same area as Rogue and known her. She had experienced horrific terrors and blatant hatred. She was a huge form in Rogue's mind and only seemed to be growing all the more. A lifetime of memories flashed through Rogue's mind, confusing her, frightening her, choking her. Rogue was strangled under Carol's dominating thoughts and personality. It was almost as if Carol was as big as a force as Rogue, so dominating she was.

Rogue flailed on the ground, but still Carol remained sprawled limply over her. Simple hand gestures turned into devastating explosions. Her arms jerked this way and that, not even under her own control, they shot out red beams of raw magic energy that exploded upon touch or shifted the wall so that it curved in over Rogue. Every time her hands slammed against the ground another miniature crater was formed.

Rogue's body lifted off the ground, floating a few feet in the air and Carol's limp form finally fell off her. The explosions continued, the walls turned in around themselves. A protective bubble was formed around Rogue, made from the operating table that Carol had been strapped down upon. The roof above Rogue crumpled in on itself, the walls shook, objects in the room rose and shot at incredible speeds in various directions.

And still, Rogue's mind was a blur of activity. Even Gracie's mutation had started up, showing her flashes of pictures, gruesome activities, fast forwarded lives, the world itself changing.

A bone-chilling, not remotely humane scream was ripped from Rogue's dry throat as the walls fell in and the ceiling collapsed, burying her under the rubble.

Remy skidded to a halt as the floor in front of him opened up and crumbled. Eyes wide, he quickly jumped in and began blowing up the heavy chunks to little shreds. Not a half second later, Pietro joined him and began throwing the rubble up over the edge of the hole. Somewhere buried under all the rubble was not only Rogue, but Wanda too. The thought only spurred his speed to a pace he had never before reached. The sound of thrown and exploding stones was thunderous.

_A/N: This chapter was very fun to write. I hope you guys are enjoying it too. Leave a review, please!_


	16. Bliss

**_A/N: I'm hoping the events in this chapter make up for the shortness. Tell me what ya think. _**

**A red speck showed up.** Pietro knew. It was Wanda. He had been like a madman, frantically pulling away the rocks, throwing them everywhere, uncovering Wanda.

He raced out and quickly laid her down in the nearest bedroom. Tears came to his eyes as he studied her. Lush red lips had gone nearly gray in discoloration, they were chapped and split. Normally tan skin was almost white in its paleness, except for the dark, heavy bruises that covered every other spot. He wouldn't know the exact broken bones until the initial analysis was done, but he could clearly see many markings against her. Her stomach was crooked, clearly outlined by her outfit, one side lifted slightly higher than the other, showing that several ribs must be broken. Blood slipped out of several head wounds that must have been done by jagged rocks falling. Her left wrist was scraped raw of skin. Bruises covered her frail form, but there was one thing that was obvious above all others. Her right leg had been completely crushed under the rubble so that it was deformed and limper than the rest of her, crooked and smashed. The shin was nearly flattened completely. If she even lived through the ordeal, she'd never walk again.

Pietro fell to his knees and sobbed, futilely clutching at Wanda's hand. He didn't care that the aiding Mystique or purple haired woman saw or that he'd broken his promise to Wanda that he'd never cry for her. His world crushed in around him. Despite all their differences, despite their hateful father, their outright coldness to each other, she was his sister. And she was dying.

Carol had been the next one to be uncovered. Her frail body was colorless, eyes opened, yet staring at nothing. She was dead. The fact only pushed Remy harder in exploding rocks. Rogue's body came out last, not far from Carol.

Rogue's flawless skin was unmarred by even the barest of scratches. Her clothes were nearly torn to shreds, ripped in every which way possible, but she alone remained untouched. Nevertheless, Remy sped to a room like there was no tomorrow. He knew she must be going through a head-trauma ordeal. Carol had also been spotless, which left only one answer. Rogue had fully and completely absorbed Carol to the death.

It was an option he hated even thinking about, but he saw no other explanation. He waited by her side as Mystique spoke with the psychic. Rogue looked so peaceful, as if she was merely sleeping, but Remy suspected she was raging a war inside her mind. One that would need help of the psychic.

-----

**Betsy flinched at the sight of Wanda, whom Mystique was currently tending before she tore her gaze away to stare at the blue woman before her. **"What makes you think I'll help you?"

"Because, I can give you what you most want."

Betsy's eyes narrowed. "And what is it, pray tell, that I most want?"

"Revenge against the man called Shade." Mystique didn't even pause in her administrations to Wanda, as if she were carelessly throwing out the suggestion.

"What is it you want of me?" Betsy tried not to sound too anxious.

-----

_**Rogue swam in a deep sea of never-ending thoughts. **__The pictures around her faded and replaced every other second with scenery that Rogue was familiar with, to places she had never seen before. Everything was swirling, Rogue didn't know what to do._

_She trotted through the swirling mass aimlessly, looking for an answer to her question, a place that wouldn't immediately fade before her eyes, anything to give her a hint as to what she was doing. Her house loomed in the distance; two little girls were playing in the front yard. Rogue recognized the house and the people, they were her own. One girl was Gracie, the other was Rogue herself. Rogue blinked. Gracie threw a toy at the ground and stamped away. The house began to shimmer and fade._

"_No!" Rogue ran towards it, hoping to catch it before it completely faded. The faster she ran, the more it seemed to move away, until it was only a speck in the distance. Rogue stopped running and looked down at her hands._

_They were gloveless and covered with something red. Rogue gingerly touched the sticky liquid. It was blood. A younger version of herself appeared beneath her, struggling, crying out. It was the day Rogue had run away; she was Secon, beating against a defenseless girl. _

_Before Rogue could reach out to grab her younger's hand, the scene faded again and Rogue found herself surrounded by trees. Two others burst onto the scene, a younger Wanda and someone Rogue didn't know. Wanda fell over the girl and began sobbing. Rogue watched, morbidly fascinated, unconsciously moving closer to get a better look. The girl under Wanda was dead._

_Magneto appeared on the scene from out of the nearby trees. Wanda fell back and Magneto's gaze hardened. Wanda flew back from her position, crashing through branches, crying out until her voice died and she was merely a speck in the distance. Rogue ran to follow, but again the scene around her faded._

_Lights appeared all around Rogue, illuminating the busy square. She immediately knew she was in New Orleans, how she figured, she didn't know, but she knew. Two familiar red on black eyes blinked and Rogue found herself nearly face to face with the Cajun. He walked right through her, chilling her and giving her a cold sensation before walking into a man in front of her. This time, he didn't fall through him. They collided and the man fell. Remy held out his hand to help the man up._

_The man spoke with a thick Cajun accent, just like Remy. "Nice try son, but 'M not thinkin' so." He grabbed Remy's hand and his other hand flicked into Remy's trench coat, pulling out a wallet. "I'd like t' introduce y' t' some people, son. Follow me." He pulled Remy's hand and Remy obediently followed, glancing around nervously. _

_Flash, it changed. John was standing up to his father, glaring at him, wishing for his death…and there it was._

_Again, the landscape went dark and another field of activity arose from the blackness. Cold, freezing air whipped at Rogue's face as she made her way through thick layers of snow to a destination she didn't even know. Every few minutes, he would freeze, but quickly following his mutation cured the temporary frost and he trudged on to find his past. He had to know…_

_Rogue noticed some scenes went by quicker than others. Logan's evaporated almost as fast as it came and another picture took his place. Mystique carefully watched over a fuzzy blue mutant as he playfully swung on the swings, laughing with someone Rogue didn't know. The woman turned and smiled warmly at Mystique. Mystique returned the smile and turned in to the house, unsuspecting. The woman stopped laughing and leaned over to whisper something into Kurt's ear. Kurt stopped smiling. The landscape dispersed._

_Erik sobbed into his hands. "What have I done?" Flash._

_Bobby stood in his bedroom, his eyes falling on her as a replica of her changed. Real Rogue flinched. Bobby walked over to her side of the room when she had changed and pressed a pair of gloves into her fingers. Rogue closed her eyes; she didn't want to see the rest of it._

_Something tugged at her hand. Rogue opened her eyes to find that she was in her bedroom back home. David was beside her on the bed, grinning carelessly. Rogue covered her head with her hands. She did not want to relive this. "Don't worry Rogue, that's not gunna happen." He twirled a picture around between his fingers. "That's what ya go by now, isn't it? Ah think Ah lihke Marie better."_

_Rogue's eyes shot open and she put her hands down, staring openmouthed at David. "David?"_

"_Yeah, it's meh. Ah've been wantin' ta talk ta ya, ya know. Ya other partners kinda scared meh off." He swirled his fingers for a second and a little miniature Logan popped up in the air before he waved his hand through him and mini Logan disappeared. _

"_David…" Rogue couldn't seem to say anything besides his name. Her eyes suddenly fell away from him, cloudy and wet. "Ah'm sorry."_

"_It's alright, Marie. Ah know ya didn't mean ta do it. No worries."_

_Rogue couldn't look at him. "Ah hurt ya..."_

_David grinned. "Ya really are stuck on one fact, aren't ya?" Rogue still didn't turn to him. A finger was placed under her chin and moved her gaze to him. Rogue gasped and backed away. David's hand was bare._

"_Don't-"_

"_Ya can't hurt meh in here. Ah'm already in ya mind." David scooted closer to Rogue, making her flinch. "Come on, Marie. Don't be scared. Ah wouldn't hurt ya."_

_A single tear fell from Rogue's eyes. David placed a hand on her own. Both were gloveless. Rogue stared at their hands, just touching. "There's somethin' Ah want ya ta do fohr meh, Marie." Hesitantly, Rogue's gaze lifted from their touching fingers. _

"_What?"_

"_Ah want ya ta take control of ya life. Don't be pushed around. There are people who care fohr ya out there, Ah've seen it. Ah see everythin' ya do an' Ah know a lot more than ya might think. Ah want ya ta live, Marie."_

_What did he mean? Rogue wasn't sure. She opened her mouth to speak, but he cut her off. "Ya know what Ah mean. Don't be controlled Marie, ya the one in control. It's ya life." He flipped the picture again. "Ah've seen that new kid around too. That Remy."_

"_What?"_

_David grinned. "Ya lihke him, don't ya?"_

_Rogue blinked. "What are ya talkin' about? Ah do not!"_

"_Now ya jus' lyin' ta ya'self. Ah can tell, remember?"_

"_David, what are ya talkin' about?" Rogue was honestly not following him._

"_It's okay, Ah've realized it even before ya sister got here." David assured her, smiling._

"_Realized what?"_

"_That ya two were meant fohr each other. Fate put ya together."_

"_Ah don't lihke Remy lihke that! Why does everybody else think so?"_

"_Because ya do." David flipped out his picture he had been twirling in his fingers. A few years older Remy, but obviously him, had his arm around Rogue, pulling her close. Rogue was smiling, holding a hand over her enlarged stomach. Her stomach bulged out, rounded and obviously pregnant. _

_Rogue gasped. "What is that?!"_

"_Ya sister saw it in her visions, among a few other things. Ah jus' captured it in a snapshot fohr ya. Ya gunna have a happy endin' after all, Marie." If it were possible, Rogue would have fainted in her own mind. David seemed to flicker and her whole room dimmed. Rogue blinked and it was all gone, leaving her still with a ringing in her ears._

"_Rogue." Rogue nearly jumped out of her skin. Turning slowly, she faced the voice. Remy leaned casually against the wall, shuffling his ever present cards. "Remy hears some funny dings lately."_

_Rogue's knees went weak. Before she could hit the ground, Remy caught her. Smiling down from above her, his natural, casual grin fixed in place. "An' here Remy dought y' might pummel him." Remy sunk down and leaned her up against his knees, stroking her hair. Rogue just stared at him, jaw slack._

"_Dere a few dings we should talk 'bout, heh?" Rogue didn't say anything, so he continued. "Well, Remy leave dis talk fo' y' an' real Remy, but he do what he can t' comfort y'."_

"_Ah…ah'm goin' ta marry ya?" Rogue blinked again. Even if she wanted to, she was unable to move from the position she was in. Her limbs had stopped working._

"_Y' never know, maybe dat chil' is born outa' marriage." _

_Rogue stared at him, horrified. "Is that ya way of comfortin' meh?"_

_Remy chuckled. "Jus' kiddin' chere, lighten up."_

_Something occurred to Rogue. "Wait a second. If Ah'm supposed ta marry ya an' have ya children, where does mah death come inta play in allah this?"_

"_Y' mean her other vision? Oh! Remy probably shoulda mentioned dis before. Her visions aren't necessary de future, chere. Dey're probable possibilities o' de future."_

"_So if Ah don't die first, Ah'm goin' ta marry ya later? What is this?"_

_Remy moved aside another stray lock of hair, silent for a moment. When he spoke, it was in a softer, serious tone. "Do y' fear marryin' Remy dat much?"_

_Rogue regained use of her limbs; she sat up from Remy's lap and looked at him. "Ah didn' mean it lihke that, Remy." Remy's head dropped slightly. "Ah mean, Ah jus' never really thought of it…well, maybe Ah did, everyone else seems ta think Ah'm in love with ya, but…"_

"_But?"_

_Rogue shook her head. "Ah don't know. Ah do depend on ya Remy, Ah know that, but Ah never really thought of…ya know, us. Ah mean, Ah know ya flirt with meh, but Ah jus' figured ya flirt with everyone…"_

_Remy shrugged. "Remy give y' dat one, chere. Remy's a flirt, but y' know…some dings are deeper dan flirtin'. Remy cares fo' y', Roguey. I care fo' y'."_

"_Remy, Ah-" A fireball smashed into the wall right next to Rogue's head. Rogue squeaked and Remy jumped to action. Down the hallway they were in, a very enraged Pyro was toying with another fireball. Unlike the real John, who Rogue knew well and cared for, she had absorbed Pyro at a very pinnacle moment and she hadn't absorbed him fully. As soon as she had control of his powers, she had let go and fixed the trouble he was causing. The Pyro in her mind was raw anger._

"_Bitch!" He aimed another fireball at her. It would have collided right into her stomach if it hadn't been for Remy's quick reflexes. He pushed her to the side and sprung at Pyro. It only took him seconds to pin him beneath him. Pyro's flame, however, had not died. He shot it at Remy and scorched his arm. _

"_Rogue, dis y' mind! Y' can dink him away!" The flame caught on Remy's sleeve; it started burning up his arm._

_Rogue needed to talk to Remy. Pyro had interrupted them and he was trying to kill Remy. "NO!" In an instant, Pyro vanished and Remy's sleeve went out. Remy sighed and picked himself off the floor. He walked over to Rogue and held out a hand to help her up. _

"_Dat's another ding, cherie. Y' have some control problems right now. Y' gunna need t' clear us out t' de back o' y' mind again in order t' get y' body back." He pulled Rogue to her feet, but kept his hand in hers. _

"_Ah don't know how. Ah don't wanna be alone…Ah don't want ya ta go."_

"_Remy'll stick around t' help y' clean up de mess, but den he's gotta return t' psycheville. Dis isn't de real world. Y' got some issues t' clean up dere."_

"_Carol…" Rogue whispered softly. Remy saw the pain in her eyes. She knew she had held on too long, absorbed too much. Remy stepped closer to Rogue and wrapped his arms around her in a tight, encompassing hug. Rogue laid her head down on his shoulder and hugged back. They stayed that way for several minutes before Rogue turned her head so that she was looking at Remy, still close._

"_Remy…"_

"_Roguey." He smiled at her warmly, his eyes drawn and stuck on her gentle features. Rogue's eyes flashed down for a second before locking back down on his eyes._

"_Ah love ya eyes." She did, she hadn't meant to say that, but it slipped out anyway. Before Rogue could even calculate what her mind was thinking, she closed the distance between them. Her lips gently pressed against his and her arms squeezed him even closer. Remy kissed her back, capturing her lips in a passionate, soul-revealing revelation._

_Neither knew how long it lasted, but the pull away was mutual. Rogue's watery eyes found his questioningly again. "Y' one o' a kind, Roguey. One o' a kind." He squeezed her again and her head fell back upon his shoulder. She closed her eyes. Rogue, the unlovable, untouchable, restricted, the hurt, hesitant, self conscious, stubborn little broken-hearted girl, had finally found her bliss._


	17. Cold

"_**How am Ah supposed ta do this?"**__ Rogue asked Remy, squeezing his hand for comfort and furtively glancing at him._

"_Well, Remy don' know cherie, he never actually been in dis kinda situation before, believe it o' not. Let's jus' try ta find Logan o' Erik o' someone, dey been in here longer. Maybe dey know de tricks dat Remy don't." Remy threw his arm around her shoulders and hugged her close, steering her down the hallway. _

"_Where do ya think they'd be?" Rogue asked curiously, not altogether sure where Remy was leading her. She wasn't afraid though, Remy would help her through. _

"_Logan's always hangin' out in y' room, somethin' about protectin' it o' somethin'. Let's check dere." Rogue bit down on her lower lip. Remy instinctively knew what she was worried about. "It's better dis way, chere. We best find de friendly psyches first before de hostile ones. It be easier."_

_Rogue looked down. "How do ya do that? Know everythin' without meh sayin' it?"_

_Remy shrugged. "Remy's not lookin' drough y' mind, chere, if dat what y' worried about. It's jus' dis sorta ding, everyone around y' mind jus' knows everythin' else. Logan explained it t' me, so Remy don't get it 'cause de Hairy man's not exactly known fo' his good explanations, but basically he say somethin' 'bout us all bein' in y' mind so everythin' y' know, we know."_

"_But Ah don't know everythin' about all the psyches in mah head…"_

"_Hairy man says y' could if y' tried." Remy explained, "When y' touch someone, all o' dem goes in y', so technically, y' do know everythin'. But Remy knows y' don't like t' do dat-so it jus' like all de psyches know everythin' 'bout each other an' y'."_

_Rogue looked suddenly nervous and retreated into his arm a bit. She bit her lower lip. "Everythin'?"_

_Remy grinned. "Yup. Even when y' accidentally got tipsy in tenth grade at Charly's grad party an' was convinced t' play strip poker wit' y'-"_

"_Ah, stop!" Rogue flinched away from his arm and Remy tightened his grip, curving her closer. "Aww, jus' kiddin', chere. Don't worry 'bout it, Logan tries t' keep everyone's privacy separate and private."_

_Rogue relented to let him pull her back closer, but still shot him a glare. "Tries?"_

"_Hey!" Remy objected defensively, "Remy jus' saw dat de first time he found out how t' do it!"_

"_Uh huh."_

"_It's true!" Remy turned serious. "Remy wouldn't do dat t' y', chere. He don't invade y' privacy."_

_They reached the door to Rogue's room. Remy outstretched his hand and turned the knob, pushing the door in. The door opened, but it wasn't to Rogue's room. A wide, wooded land stretched out beyond the door. Rogue broke off from Remy and stepped ahead, with Remy following after her. As soon as Remy walked through the door, it evaporated into the air, leaving them both in the heavily wooded area._

_Rogue pushed her way through the thickets and after a short while, she found herself upon a clearing, the same one that she'd briefly seen flash by before. In the middle of the clearing, a younger version of Wanda cried over her lifeless sibling._

"_It took away everything from me." Wanda stepped forward from behind a tree nearby, an older Wanda. The Wanda that Rogue knew. "My home, my family, my trust…I couldn't believe in anyone after it."_

_Rogue swallowed thickly. "This is…your past."_

_Wanda stood beside her, gazing at her younger self. "Yes, this is why I was never entirely open with you." Magneto and Pietro came in from another side and Wanda watched them for a second, never tearing away her gaze. "It wasn't that I've been deceiving you, Rogue. I just don't open up easily." Wanda gave a short, humorless chuckle. "To be honest, you're probably the first person I would have considered…a companion, if not a friend, since Erik's betrayal of me."_

"_Ah'm sorry Ah accused an' threatened ya…" Rogue apologized sincerely, watching younger Wanda fly back through the trees by the metal around her waist. "Ah never knew…about this."_

"_That's hardly your fault." Wanda turned to her then, giving her a sad, broken expression that made Rogue feel even more guilty. "Gracie's trying to sort out her memories for you. The only two you really need to concentrate on are Secon and Carol. Pyro's already taken care of."_

_Rogue bit her lower lip. "Did Ah…"_

"_Yeah." Wanda shook her head. "I'm sorry Rogue, you completely absorbed her."_

"_She's…dead?"_

"_I couldn't tell you, but I'd assume so."_

_Rogue sat down, not trusting her legs to support her much longer. Carol…was dead? And Secon too, was also dead. She had killed them both._

"_Chere, don't dink dat. It's not y' fault. Secon died in the hospital an' Carol was suicidal. None o' dat is y' fault."_

_Rogue curled her arms around her knees, burying her head in them. "But it was mah skin that absorbed them, that caused both their deaths. It's mah fault they died."_

_Rogue felt a hand on her shoulder, but didn't look up. "Y' too hard on y'self, Roguey."_

_Footsteps came from behind them as Logan's familiar growl was heard. "What the fuck happened to Rogue's room?" He came into the clearing and spotted the three of them, Remy with his hand on Rogue's shoulder. "You, Cajun!" Logan jumped across the clearing and sprang at Remy, landing both feet against his chest as Remy toppled to the ground, winded._

"_Holy shit!" Remy breathed deeply. "Hairy man weighs a ton!"_

"_Don't touch her!" Logan growled lowly, quickly scanning through Remy's recent activities. A new fury caught in his eyes. "You kissed her!"_

_Remy grinned. "Well homme, y' gunna have t' ask de fille about dat one, 'cause she actually kissed Remy." _

_Logan turned his infuriated gaze at Rogue. "What did he pressure you into?"_

_Rogue sighed deeply as Wanda gave a small smile. "Ah yes, that vision of Gracie's huh? I always thought you and Remy were hiding something."_

"_We're not!" Rogue protested, embarrassed. At Remy's look, she added. "Well…real Remy an' meh aren't."_

_Logan looked like he was about to faint, which was quite a comical look on him. "I can't believe this."_

_Rogue turned redder. "Ah was jus'…jus' thinkin' too much on Gracie's prophecy."_

"_So you decided to kiss him?" Logan asked, aghast. _

"_Non, homme." Remy grinned up widely at Logan. "She decided t' passionately make out wit' Remy. An' y' know what? She woulda gone further too."_

_Rogue went crimson. "No Ah wouldn't have!"_

_Wanda chuckled. "That confirms it. Remy, Rogue's seriously got a thing for you."_

"_Remy knows! Isn't it excitin'?"_

_Another body stumbled out from the trees and ran over to the group. The figure shot at Rogue and lunged at her, arms stretched wide. Rogue was thrown back at the loud call of "Mariee!"_

"_Gracie?"_

"_Ah'm sorry, Marie! Ah'm sorry! Ah tried ta keep it a secret, but everyone in here knows everythin'! An' then David took that stupid snapshot of mah memory of tha prophecy an' now everyone knows about ya crush on Remy! Ah'm sorry!" Gracie pulled out of the hug that had completely mulled Rogue over and gasped at Rogue. "Oh mah God, ya kissed him! Well…not real him, but all tha same!"_

_Rogue flushed even darker. "Cahn we stop talkin' about this? Please? It's not lihke it's actually Remy, he's just mah psyche."_

_Remy held his trademark grin; he was really enjoying all the fuss he had made. "That makes it sound even dirtier, chere."_

_Rogue groaned as Logan shouted. "Enough! Rogue has other things to worry about!"_

"_Thank ya, Logan."_

_Logan turned on her. "We're going to talk later! My daughter will not date, think of, reminisce, or have any kind of intentions at all towards drinking, sexual womanizers!"_

_Rogue sighed. "Ah need to get outah here."_

"_Wanda." The actual, older, more weather worn Magneto stepped out from the trees._

"_Shit. Rogue, get him out of here."_

"_What?"  
"It's your mind! Just think him away or something!" Her voice was bridging desperation._

_Rogue herself didn't have a problem with Magneto, but she knew Wanda didn't want to speak to him or see him. Not yet, at least. So Rogue shut her eyes and imagined Magneto disappearing into another part of the mansion. To her surprise, when she opened her eyes, Magneto was gone. Wanda breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks."_

"_Uh huh…"_

"_Well!" A new voice interrupted that Rogue recognized as David. "While y'all slackers sat here an' made fun of Rogue…"_

"_He's jus' tryin' ta get back inta ya good graces fohr takin' tha snapshot." Gracie whispered to Rogue._

_David gave her a dark look. "Regardless! Ah went through tha trouble of sortin' out some memories fohr ya."_

"_What?" Rogue asked, not entirely catching on._

"_Well ya see, ya'll only be able ta gain control back of ya mahnd when ya win over Secon and Carol, right?" David pointed out logically. "But then ya'd still have a lot of Carol's memories jus' floatin' around ya head 'cause ya didn't really have tha opportunity ta sort them out. So Ah took tha liberty ta do so mahself." _

"_Ya did? Fohr meh?"_

"_Of course, Marie."_

_Rogue gave him a warm hug. "Thank ya, David!"_

_Remy grunted. "Hey, watch it. Dat's Remy's River Rat y' huggin'."_

"_Oh, so ya the jealous type?" Rogue gave a small smile. "Ah'll have ta keep that in mahnd."_

"_What does dat mean?"_

"_Nothin'," Rogue drawled, smiling mockingly at him._

_Logan couldn't seem to bear it. "Okay! Okay! Let's start settling this."_

_Rogue frowned. "Where's Mystique?"_

"_Y' know, Remy been here longer dan Mystique an' he never seen Blue around."_

_Logan seemed to hold a similar thought. "I've never seen her either."_

"_It's almost lihke ya never absorbed her." David added._

"_Why don't you call her psyche here then?" Wanda suggested._

"_How?" Rogue asked, confused._

"_Ya made Magneto disappear, didn't ya?" Gracie asked. "Why not try ta make Mystique appear?"_

"_Ah'll try…" Rogue answered uncertainly, not all together sure it worked that way._

_She closed her eyes before another body jumped from the surrounding trees. "Hey guys, mind if I join?" Bobby looked uncertain as to if his presence was welcomed. Logan glowered at the boy, but Gracie just held a hand to her lips._

"_Shhh! She's concentrating!"_

"_Sorry." He apologized sheepishly._

_Rogue opened her eyes. "Is she here?"_

"_Oh my fuc-"_

"_Logan!" Rogue shot a furtive glance at Gracie._

"_I've heard the word before!" Gracie protested._

_Remy's jaw had done a similar drop as Logan's. "That was y' plan?" _

_Rogue turned around and saw Mystique behind her, looking embarrassed and…was she blushing? Rogue couldn't tell. It didn't really show up against her blue skin._

"_What?" Rogue asked, she had yet to catch on to the 'see everything everyone knows' thing._

"_Mystique's master plan in kidnappin' y' was t' seduce Logan!" Remy exclaimed, shocked._

_Wanda actually laughed. "And all this time I thought she was planning something sinister that would kill Rogue or something."_

"_What?" Rogue demanded. "You thought Mystique was going to kill me? And you never told me?!"_

_Logan was still staring at Mystique, mouth agape. "Hairy man, y' okay?" Logan didn't respond to the jibe or the hand Remy waved in front of his face._

_It was the first time that Rogue had seen head-Logan lose his cool, other than in anger. "Logan?" She asked tentatively._

_Logan blinked and looked down at her, then back to Mystique. "Part of my past just unraveled itself before me."_

"_Huh?" Rogue had never really thought of that. But it was true, right? If Logan was her father and Mystique was her mother… "Ewww!" Rogue squealed girlishly. Remy chuckled and Wanda just gave her a raised eyebrow._

"_Mystique, we need to talk." Logan steered Mystique away from the group by the shoulders to someplace in the woods._

"_Not like we're not goin' t' know what y' talkin' about!" Remy yelled after him, just to aggravate the man. Logan held up a finger before disappearing behind the trees._

"_Well…" Bobby started awkwardly, "What now?"_

_Remy looked at Bobby strangely, as if seeing the boy for the first time. "Hey…y' dat Iceyboy." Bobby shifted uncomfortably under the scruchiating gaze. _

"_Yeah?"_

_In a lightning flash movement, Remy pounced at him and the two rolled over on the ground in a flurry of fists. Rogue flinched back. "Don't hurt him!" She yelled, not really sure who she was talking to._

_Wanda raised a perfectly skeptical eyebrow. "You chose a mature one, Rogue."_

_Rogue shifted much like Bobby's movement before he got tackled. "What now?"_

"_Well that's a little obvious." Gracie stretched. "Now ya gotta kick some Carol an' Secon butt."_

_David frowned slightly. "What kinda name is Secon anyway?"_

"_Ah never really thought about that." Gracie wore a thoughtful expression._

"_If ya think about it," David continued, "It's not really a name at all. Have ya ever heard of anybody else named Secon? Ah haven't."_

"_Me neither!" Gracie chimed in._

_Wanda gave both of them a look. "What the hell are you two jabbering about?" She shook her head. "Nevermind. Rogue, come on. You've got to fight off Secon and Carol to gain control back of your mind."_

"_Where are they?" Rogue questioned, not altogether sure how she would 'fight' them off. Nobody answered. Rogue lifted her head and looked at Wanda. Wanda seemed frozen in a position, staring at Rogue. "Uh, Wanda?" Wanda didn't move. Rogue waved her hand in front of Wanda's face to provoke a reaction, but Wanda remained as still as before, unmoving. Rogue's eyes roamed over her friends surrounding her and found them in a similar state. Confused, Rogue looked over at where Remy and Bobby had been wrestling. The two were still locked together, Remy on top with his fist raised, both frozen. _

"_They're not goin' ta help ya." An all too familiar voice broke the stillness and Rogue spun on her heel. Secon leaned idly against a tree, watching Rogue with narrowed eyes. _

"_What'd you do to them?" Rogue asked, her hand shook slightly._

_Secon seemed to notice. "Scared? Ya should be. Ya don't even know the rules of ya own mahnd." Excruciating pain suddenly shot through Rogue's body and her legs buckled from under her, forcing her to her knees. Rogue grabbed her skull in both hands, for that was where the pain was radiating from, and cried out. It was the worst pain Rogue had ever felt, rocketing through her skull like someone had lit a firework off in her head. Her temples throbbed to the alien feeling, rejecting it entirely. "Even in ya own mahnd, ya have no idea how ta defend ya'self. Ya'r worthless, pitiful." He shook his head. "A dirty, groveling mutant. That's all you are." _

"_Secon, stop!" Rogue screamed desperately. "Ah never meant ta hurt ya! If ya in mah mahnd, ya must know that!"_

_The sharp pain in her head grew. Rogue screamed again as Secon moved away from the tree he was leaning against. "All ya mutants are tha same." He spat, watching her writhe on the ground. "Deceiving, plotting little monsters. Y'all deserve ta burn in hell." He kicked Rogue in the stomach and she keeled over, one hand still on her head, one covering her stomach, writhing in the dirt. "Ya tricked mah sister, tried ta drag her over onto ya sade. And now look at her," his teeth clenched, "She's dead!" Secon kicked her again, this time harder and Rogue flipped over onto her back._

_Tears prickled in Rogue's eyes. "Ah'm sorry!"_

_Secon reached down and picked Rogue up by the neck, holding her high above the ground and squeezing tightly so that she couldn't breathe. "Sorry? Ya don't know the meanin' of tha word. By tha time Ah'm done with ya, ya'll be wishin' ya were dead. And even then, Ah won't stop. Ya caused Carol years of pain, it's time ta repay tha favor."_

_Black dots started to appear in front of Rogue's vision as she desperately fought against the coming unconsciousness. Mustering all her strength and gritting her teeth against the pain in her head, Rogue kicked as hard as she could at Secon's groin. Secon's movements were quick; he grabbed her foot in mid-swing and began to twist it back. A small smile played upon his face. "Oh yes, Ah'm goin' ta enjoy this."_

"_Enjoy this, bub." Six foot long claws shot out of Logan's forearm with a 'snick' and shoved through his chest with an icky squelch noise. Secon looked down at the bloodstained claw tips protruding from his chest._

_Slowly, his head rose again, and, to Rogue's horror, he was smiling sadistically with an amused smirk. "Ah don't think so," Carelessly throwing Rogue aside so that she collided into a tree and her head snapped against the bark, Secon stepped forward, allowing the claws to slip right back out of him. Behind him, Logan and Mystique did a similar freezing motion that had taken the rest of her friends. It might have been comical if the situation weren't so dire, Wolverine lunged forward, bloody claws extended with a feral expression on his face. Next to Logan, Mystique also froze in place, one hand extended outward._

_Secon walked over to where Rogue had fallen and grabbed her arm. "Let's go, shall we?" His fingers dug into her flesh as her gripped her in a deathhold and began dragging her out of the clearing._

"_Stop." The excruciating pain in Rogue's head suddenly stopped, leaving her with a migraine-sized headache. Secon turned at the sound of a new voice that Rogue didn't recognize as a purple-haired woman stepped into the clearing, giving a withering look at the scene before her eyes fell on Rogue._

"_So you're Rogue?" She spoke in a clear-cut British accent, completely unmatching to her obvious Japanese heritage. _

_Secon gave the woman a dull look before flicking his hand at her in an odd fashion. When nothing happened, Secon let go of Rogue's arm and kicked her again. "Stay." Rogue's muscles went ridged, she couldn't move. _

"_You're Secon?" The woman gave Secon a demeaning glare. "I see how you gained control. A little bit of tampering from Memo and you're all powerful, huh?"_

"_Who's this bitch?" Secon directed the question to Rogue. "Friend of yours?" Rogue couldn't answer, even if she wanted to, but Secon seemed to already know the answer. "We'll jus' have ta take care of her as well."_

"_You'll take care of nothing." The lavender hair beauty stated coldly. With a mere flick of her wrist, a green beam shot from her fingers and struck Secon full in the chest. Secon choked and fell to his knees, holding his chest and stomach as if he were afraid they'd fall off. The hold on Rogue released, but Rogue remained frozen in place, watching the spectacle in awe. In another moment, Secon made a choking-like sound and fell unconscious to the ground. The woman grimaced slightly as she made her way over to Rogue. "Get up. Carol's still out there."_

"_W-What did ya do ta him?" Rogue stuttered, still a bit shocked from the woman's random appearance._

"_Just drained him of his Memo-boosted powers. I would erase him completely from your mind, but I don't know how to completely wipe out an identity." Rogue gave her a confused look; the woman rolled her eyes, slightly reminding Rogue of Wanda. "Shut up, just get up. I'll explain it to you when you're conscious."_

"_Who are you?" Rogue asked in wonder, finding her way to her feet with some difficulty._

"_My name's Elizabeth." She replied, not looking at Rogue or offering to help her up. "Your mother sent me to help you."_

"_Mystique?"_

"_Who else?" Elizabeth strode over to the clearing._

"_Where are you going?" Rogue asked._

"_You don't want them to stay like that, do you?" Elizabeth nodded towards her frozen friends._

"_Oh…no." Rogue followed the woman to the clearing, where one-by-one, her friends were unfreezing. As soon as Gracie gained control of her limbs again, she leapt at Rogue and tackled her to the ground in a hug. Remy's punch hit Bobby square in the eye, still completely oblivious to the happenings around them, the boys fought. _

"_Marie! Are ya okay? Ah saw Secon beatin' ya up an' Ah couldn't move!"_

_David idly scratched the back of his neck. "Ya, what happened? Where'd Secon go?"_

"_Who's she?" Wanda asked skeptically, analyzing Elizabeth._

_Elizabeth gave Wanda a withering glare. "Don't even try to read my mind."_

"_Is it too empty?" Wanda retorted back, just as coldly._

"_That's Elizabeth." Rogue cut in, trying to avoid more hostile situations. "She saved meh."_

_Wanda only quirked an eyebrow, saying nothing more. Mystique chuckled and Elizabeth turned away from Wanda. "The sooner I'm out of here, the better. Let's go, Rogue. You can socialize with your freak show up here later."_

"_Do ya know where Carol is?" Rogue asked hesitantly._

"_Bobby's room."_

_Bobby wrestled away from Remy. "Say what?" _

_Remy quickly tackled him again and the two were at fists again. Elizabeth's eyes darkened. "Jesus Christ, she's crying."_

"_She is?" Rogue bit her lower lip. "Cahn Ah talk ta her before ya knock her out?"_

"_It's your mind, I don't care. Just don't take too long."_

_Rogue stood up, with Gracie still clinging to her around the middle. "Gracie, ya gunna have ta let go."_

"_No!" Gracie protested. "Ah don't want ya ta go talk ta her! She's jus' gunna beat ya up!"_

"_Thanks fohr the vote of confidence." Rogue added wryly._

"_It's true!" Gracie insisted._

_Logan came up behind her with a hesitant Mystique. "I'm with the kid on this, Rogue. I don't think talking to her is the best option."_

"_Ah'm goin' ta at least try." _

"_It's her sanity on the line; let her do what she wants." _

"_That's encouraging Wanda." David frowned at her. "Whatever!" Rogue interrupted. "Ah'm goin'." She looked at Elizabeth. "Are ya comin'?"_

"_I'll wait outside the door. Mystique mentioned something about you not dying or another."_

_Rogue gave a brave smile that she didn't necessarily feel and set off. Just after disappearing through the edge of the woods, Remy, a bit bloodied but better for the wear than Bobby, hopped off the other beaten teenager and looked around, confused. "Where'd Roguey go?" Wanda shook her head dismissively._


	18. Request

**Logan's eyes narrowed as he sniffed the air and recognized Rogue's scent. **It was everywhere, laid thick among the trees and in the grass along with others that Logan didn't recognize, there was one in particular that was unmistakable. Logan growled lowly, fists clenching. "Mystique."

"Try again." A low, feline voice growled. From out of the tree above him, Sabertooth dropped down onto his back. Feet kicked out, Logan fell under the unexpected attack and rolled to the ground. Sabertooth used Logan to cushion his fall then pinned Logan beneath him.

At Rogue's scent, Logan had half forgotten about Sabertooth. Realization of his strong scent came back as claws pierced his back, instantly drawing blood. _Snick. _Logan howled in pain before bracing his arms under him and flipping over so that he was looking skyward, still skewered from behind as Sabertooth flipped under him. With a grunt at their switched positions, Sabertooth pulled back his feet and kicked up at Logan, throwing the man up and off of him with a sickening squelch as his claws were ripped from Logan's back.

Logan nearly fell back down from the force of Sabertooth's kick, but managed to scrape his own claws against a tree on the way and managed to catch his balance. Sabertooth didn't give him much time to think. As soon as Logan turned around to face Sabertooth, Sabertooth was already jumping at him. Once again, Logan found himself thrown to the ground under the weight of Sabertooth. Logan lifted his arms in the fall and managed to embed his claws deeply into Sabertooth's shoulders, but it hardly hindered the feral beast at all. Sabertooth began ripping away his skin at the throat in an attempt to kill him.

Blood gushed in Logan's throat as the skin was literally shredded off. His healing factor kicked in again, rapidly trying to heal the damage, but it was a loosing battle. Logan spat blood at Sabertooth in attempt to distract him, but nothing was working. Logan couldn't breathe. It looked like his end was finally upon him…by Sabertooth. Of all people. What crappy irony. Suddenly, it stopped. Sabertooth fell limply against him and his throat was given time to heal. Still slightly choking and coughing up excess blood, Logan pushed Sabertooth's limp form off him and raised his eyebrow in question until his gaze fell upon another.

A fierce, blood gurgled growl was emitted from the blood stained lips. "Mystique."

---

**"No, Pietro don't!"** Her voice was weak and ragged, mixed with desperation and fear. Broken and nearly dead, Wanda looked far from her normal healthy self. Pietro couldn't look at her like that; he didn't want to see her fear or desperation. He didn't want to let her die like that, hopelessly crippled in a bed with death leering over her.

"Wanda, please….he deserves one last chance…if just to see you before…before-" Pietro faltered and cut himself off, unable to finish.

"He deserves nothing." The venom in her voice was entirely evident. Her chest heaved with the effort of speech, falling unnaturally while sweat perspired on her brow.

Pietro looked even further away, closing his eyes to the reality. "Wanda…"

"No." Wanda cut off harshly, breathing in deeply at the strain that talking was taking on her. "Forget it."

Pietro sighed. "He might not deserve it, but Wanda…he's still dad."

"I said no." Pietro still didn't look very trusty. "If you go…" She took in another deep breath and coughed. "I'll kill myself first."

Pietro swallowed. She wasn't lying. Wanda always stuck by her threats. "Can I at least tell him?"

"No…Not until I'm dead." Pietro flinched at the phrase.

Pietro breathed in heavily and closed his eyes. "Wanda…I don't want you to die." Pietro turned and opened his eyes, beholding Wanda in all her shame and injuries. There was no question about it. Wanda was going to die. "Don't say anything; I just want to say this before…it happens." Pietro looked back down at his feet. "I just…I need you to know that I never meant to choose sides and alienate you the way I did. I tried looking for you back then, I really did. But dad found me first and stopped that—and don't think even worse of him because of it, 'cause he stopped me from his own shame, but I just want you to know that all that time, I wasn't plotting with him or anything. He never plotted either, but…now that I think of it, I don't think I've ever said this to you…maybe when we were kids, but…I'm just trying to say I love you, Wanda. I love you and I'm sorry."

A long silence ensued afterwards. When Pietro finally gained the nerve to look back up at Wanda, it was to see that she had turned away as well. "I know we both put you through hell." Pietro continued. "And that you don't trust me or dad, but I just wanted you to know…" Pietro made his way to the door and cast one last look at Wanda's broken and beaten form. Swallowing his emotions, he pushed open the door and left.

A few silent tears dropped from Wanda's one uncovered eye to splash and sink into her shirt. It wasn't audible, but she thanked every possible manifestation of God that there was for Pietro's last words to her.

---

_**BOOM!**_ A loud crash ricocheted through the hall leading to the infirmity as the door collapsed and a teenage blond girl stepped in. "Boom-Boom, coming through!" With a light chuckle, she kicked at a piece of metal that had fallen off and smiled grandly at the open-mouthed Kurt. From his position strapped down against the table, John glanced between the two of them with raised eyebrows.

"Tabitha?"

"Blue! What're you doing here? You gave up the circus gig for this place? I suppose it's got its quirks and everything, but you were one hell of a performer!" Kurt glowed. "Incredible Nightcrawler, come on! You can do better than the X-Men!"

"Tabitha, it's good to see voo!" Kurt stood up to hug the girl, but then he glanced down at the destruction again and frowned. "Vhat are voo doing here?"

"Aww, come on, Blue. Lets skip formalities, we know each other well enough to be past that."

"You're joining ze X-Men?" Kurt asked, confused.

Tabitha laughed. "Of course not." She ruffled Kurt's hair as she spun past. "I'm here to help out Sparky boy." She went to the side of John's operating table and began removing his binds.

"It's Pyro." John returned evenly, but it was clear he was amused by the smirk on his face and his changed expression.

Kurt jumped. "Tabitha, stop! Don't do that!" He rushed forward and held her back with an arm as John's first leg bondage fell away.

"Whoa, whoa, Blue! What'cha trying to do here? I'm saving Sparky; you don't want to interfere in a rescue mission, do ya?"

"Voo don't understand," Kurt cut in, pulling her back from John's table. "He's dangerous, Tabitha."

"Who doesn't want to live without a little danger?" Tabitha made to go to John's side again, but Kurt blocked her way.

"Tabitha…who are voo working for?"

"Magneto, of course." Tabitha threw off lightly. "Look Blue, if I don't get back with Sparky-"

"Pyro."

"With fire obsessed boy over there, Mags is gunna set his other teammates to come get him. You'd rather have me, right?" Tabitha smiled coyly.

"I can't let voo take him." Kurt explained. "He's knows about _mien swhechzter. _Until he talks, he's not allowed to go."

"Whoa, you're sister? When'd you get a sister?!" Tabitha asked, genuinely surprised and optimistic. "It's not that Rogue girl, is it? That's the one Mags is planning to kidnap!"

"Vhat?!"

"Tabitha!"

"Oh, you hush." Tabitha waved John off airily. "We're catching up here; I'll save your overly-anxious ass in a minute." Tabitha glanced back at Kurt and gave him a wide, warm smile. "So that _is _your sister huh? That's cool, Blue! So, how'd you end up here?"

Kurt shook his head. "Tabitha, can voo tell me anything about Rogue?"

Tabitha shrugged. "Last I heard, she's going a little crazy with something called psyches. But anyway, what've you been doing here?"

Kurt paled. "Going crazy?! Tabitha!"

"What?" Tabitha's face gained a slight look of understanding. "Oh! Well don't worry Blue; I'm sure she's fine." Somehow, Kurt was not reassured.

"Can voo take me to her?"

"Tabitha." John called from the table, getting bored with the delay in the rescue.

"Nope, sorry." Tabitha flung off, flipping her hair airily. "Can't do that, Blue. But tell ya what, I'll keep you updated on her progress. How's that?"

"Tabitha!" John called out again, getting more annoyed by the second.

"Tabitha, please! I vant to see her!"

Tabitha gave him an apologetic, dazzling smile. "The problem with that isn't seeing her; it's that you could teleport away with her. Therefore, you don't get visitation reserves. Sorry Blue." Despite her flippancy, Tabitha was being genuine and honest. Someone who didn't know her as well might have classified her as a bitch or uncaring, but Kurt knew her well enough to know that was just her general attitude towards everything. Kurt hung his head in defeat.

"TABITHA!" John shouted to get her attention. Tabitha faltered then looked behind Kurt, as if she had forgotten John was there. "Any day now would be great!"

Tabitha looked offended. "Excuse me? This is really quite important. You've been laying there for a few days already, just sit tight, alright? Jeez, some people are just plain rude." She turned back to Kurt. "Well, my favorite little blue flipping gymnast, we've gotta catch up sometime, right? I'll find ya in a few days and give you a report about your sister and we can catch up over a movie or something. Sound good?"

"Tabitha, I can't let voo just take him."

Tabitha flashed another dazzling, award winning smile. "What're you saying, Blue? You gunna fight me? I won't take it personal."

"I don't vant to hurt voo." Kurt was hesitant. It would prove to be his undoing.

"Yeah, well okay. I get it. Don't worry; this won't ruin anything between us." Tabitha snapped her fingers and several glowing yellow-orange energy balls appeared. Flicking her wrist, several flew over to John's table and lightly exploded before reaching him. Kurt teleported away before the explosion, but Tabitha knew him too well and was way ahead of him. Sprinkling energy balls around her, Tabitha quickly formed little pockets of energy and easily exploded John's bindings.

Kurt reappeared behind her and Tabitha grinned. "Sorry Blue." With that, the energy balls on the floor behind her that she had dropped earlier exploded and Kurt, who had just teleported, wasn't expecting such quick retaliation, was thrown forward. His head collided with the operating table directly next to John's and he crumbled in a heap. Tabitha smiled warmly at John as he quirked another eyebrow at her. "Well Sparky, let's go! The others are going to come if we don't hurry. Did you have to take so much time up?"

"Others?" John questioned, ignoring her completely faulted actions for their slow progression.

"Hun, you missed quite a party! We've got a whole new crew now!"

---

"_**Carol?"**__ Rogue stepped into the room and shut the door behind her. The sound of muffled sobbing could be heard around the corner. Rogue came along the edge of the wall and came into the middle of the bedroom._

_Carol was lying down on Bobby's bed, sobbing into his pillow with her face buried in the fluffy, feather-stuffed pillowcase. "Carol?"_

"_Leave me alone!" Carol sobbed, burying her face deeper into the pillow. _

"_Ah'm sorry, Carol."_

_Carol kept her face buried. "No you're not! You say it every time Secon, you're not!" Rogue froze, Carol thought she was Secon? "If you were, you wouldn't slip up! If you truly were sorry, you'd accept me for being a mutant, yet…you despise me." Carol lifted her head from the pillow, but she still didn't turn to look at Rogue. "Why can't you just love me, Secon? Why must you hate me…hate us? What did we do to you that makes you hate me so badly?" She chanced a glance out of the corner of her eye and nearly fainted. "You!" Carol roared, fury clearly identifiable in her voice. "It's all your fault!"_

_Carol lunged at Rogue and tackled her to the ground. Rogue held her arms in front of her face as Carol's fist came down for her. A bone-splitting force struck Rogue's arm and Rogue could hear the bones in her forearm crack. She cried out in pain as fire raced up her arm. "Carol, stop!"_

_To her surprise, Carol faltered, her fist still raised for a killing blow as her lip trembled. Carol swallowed thickly and closed her eyes, her fist slowly fell to her side. "You…never meant to hurt him." The words seemed to die in her throat and came out barely above a whisper. She rolled off Rogue and lay there on the ground, staring at the ceiling with tears falling freely from her eyes. Carol's jaw trembled again. "I just…I never listened. And now…I'm dead." Rogue's insides hollowed out at this. Carol kept her gaze straight ahead, mumbling softly, half to herself, half just to be heard. "You were right all along."_

"_Carol…" _

_But Carol seemed not to hear her, or she ignored her. "He never loved me…never even liked me, I bet. I'm just a mutant to him."_

"_Carol, that's not true." It wasn't either, Secon proclaimed everything he did as justice for Carol's suffering._

"_That's just his justification for it." Carol knew what Rogue thought. "He hates me. He hates everything. I…I was desperate, to avenge him…to prove to him that I wasn't what he thought…but I'm worse." Carol turned her head to the side and looked at Rogue. "I think…I've gone to hell. The other me. I mean, there's no other place for people like me, is there?" Rogue bit her bottom lip, not knowing what to say to that. Rogue had never particularly been religious, but she knew the basic stuff. She'd never really thought about after-death. Rogue's mind chuckled wryly; she'd probably be going to hell too. She had killed two people, after all, wasn't that the worst wrong-doing? Evidence of Carol and Secon still remained in her mind. Carol gave her a sad smile that held no happiness in it. "I guess we're a lot more alike than I thought, huh Marie? You can go about your business, I won't bother you." Carol turned her head back to the ceiling. "Sorry for the ruckus I caused."_

_And that was it, Rogue's dismissal. Holding her arm and wincing slightly, Rogue left the room and found Elizabeth waiting outside. Elizabeth held out a hand. "Come on. It's time for you to wake up." Rogue held out her good arm and Elizabeth grasped her arm. "Close your eyes." Rogue obeyed. For a millisecond, she felt the weirdest feeling of complete emptiness. It wasn't uncomfortable, like Kurt's slightly painful bamfs, just…empty. _

Red light shone brightly through the corners of her eyelids and Rogue opened her eyes. Remy was sitting on the edge of the bed, fiddling with her gloved hand. On her other side, Elizabeth was just drawing back and Remy seemed to notice her movement. He quickly glanced down at Rogue and saw she was awake. "_Chere!" _

Rogue's eyes adjusted and she looked at him. As Remy came into focus, Rogue blushed slightly at his gaze upon her. "Remy…"

"Roguey, y' had us all worried!" Upon her awake, Remy stopped fiddling with her hand. Remy urgently looked at Elizabeth. "She's all right now? It won't happen again?"

"She's fine." Elizabeth responded stiffly, keeping a cool gaze on Rogue. Rogue shivered under Elizabeth's stare.

"Remy, how's Wanda?"

Remy looked away, staring instead at Rogue's covers. Panic rose in Rogue's voice. "Remy! Answer meh! Is she-she's not…is she?" Rogue's voice shook as her hands began to quaver.

"I dink…y' ought t' see her. She don't have much time left…" Rogue's insides went hollow.

---

**Rogue tentatively opened the door to Wanda's room and stepped inside. **Wanda turned slightly at the sound of the door and Rogue had to fight back the urge to gasp audibly.

Wanda looked so beaten; it was amazing that she wasn't dead already. Bruises crawled over her skin like an infectious disease, covering all they could. Random scrapes and cuts that were shallower were left unwrapped while white wrap covered her right arm from the elbow to the wrist, her left foot, various spots on her face and over her stomach. Three fingers on her right hand had been stinted while only three on her left remained clear. Her stomach seemed to be uneven, as if the ribs were broken and her wrist looked as if it had been snapped. Her right leg had been nearly flattened, crushed under weight, the bones shattered and the muscle ripped savagely.

One eye was covered by a white patch so that Rogue could only make out part of her pale face. Three uncovered, scabbed claw marks marred her cheek while the bottom half of her jaw remained blackened with bruises and cuts.

Rogue couldn't find words. She didn't know what to say. It was clear that Wanda was dying, slowly, painfully, with hate. The smell of blood was thick in the air, so that it almost choked the occupants of the room. Bloodied bandages lay strewn aside, used and worthless. "Wanda." Rogue choked, barely able to stand the sight. "Oh, God, Wanda…"

"You happy now?" Her voice was barely above a whisper, coming through cracked, dry lips. The simple words seemed impossible, Wanda's stomach arched in further than it should have and she heaved to draw in breaths, keeping her one uncovered eye trained at the ceiling, away from Rogue. Rogue fell to her knees at the side of Wanda's bed, unable to support herself.

Rogue had done this. It was all her fault. When she couldn't control Secon, he had used her body to free his sister and then all hell broke loose as Carol fought against her. Carol. Rogue swallowed thickly. There was another one, another death that had been caused by her. Secon, Carol, and now Wanda. All because of her. 'Sorry' was a cheap word, one used to excuse an action. Rogue didn't deserve to be excused, didn't _want _to be excused. She wanted to stop hurting people, she'd taken precautions, but they were all bull, she realized. Everyone she touched, everyone she knew, got hurt. She was worthless, less than worthless, she hurt people, destroyed lives. She was Rogue.

Wanda swallowed thickly and closed her eye, seeming to regain breath to speak again. "I need…a favor." The words took her breath away and she had to breath in heavily again.

Tears swelled in Rogue's eyes. "Anything."

Wanda swallowed deeply again. "Drain me." The words shook her frame and she shuttered back, taking in great gulps of air again.

Rogue fell back, aghast. "What?"

It seemed to take all her energy and concentration to get the words out. Talking had to be hurting her, the amount of damage she'd taken. After another few moments and long-drawn in breaths, Wanda spoke. "I want…to exist in bliss." Tears glistened in her visible eye.

"Ya already in mah head." Rogue protested, frightened beyond anything that Wanda would even suggest something like that.

Wanda slightly shook her head, but quickly stopped. "Entirely."

Rogue spoke, aghast, "Ah don't want ta kill ya."

Wanda's voice was softer than a heartbeat. "Rogue..."

Rogue breathed in sharply, she closed her eyes. "Wanda, don't make meh…"

"You owe it to me!" Wanda's returning voice was sharp and her one seeing eye glared sharply at Rogue before softening once more. "Please…"

Rogue swallowed. The woman who was on her deathbed, who hadn't ever been treated right and never justly loved, the woman who'd come to be Rogue's friend before Rogue recklessly broke the bond, was asking for one last favor on her deathbed. Rogue wouldn't deny her. She gave a slight nod, unable to speak of it. Wanda's eye remained glued on Rogue's face. Slowly, Rogue pulled off a glove and reached her hand out to Wanda's face. Tears falling from her eyes, her hand trembled, only inches away.

"I'll see you…on the other side."

Rogue swallowed. "Forgive meh." She pressed her flesh against the side of Wanda's cheek.

There was no scream of horror or frantic jerk in Wanda's body. Wanda simply closed her watery green eyes as a single tear rolled down her cheek. Breathing in one last time, her last exhale was frail and still. The tear that had fallen from her eye splashed against the pillow as the last of Wanda's life force broke free from her broken body.

Rogue's mind was in chaos, but she neither heard the echoing memories of Wanda's psyche nor watched the new images flash through her mind. Rogue's lip trembled with the urge to cry, but no sound escaped her lips.

Wanda lay quite still, her hair slightly moving with the fresh wind through the open window. For the first time in her life since running from her father, Wanda's features had gained a serene, peaceful look. It was just too bad that death had to claim her before she could attain such bliss.


	19. Despair

**Rogue would have stayed there for hours, perhaps days, just staring at Wanda's lifeless face if it hadn't been for the warm hand placed on her shoulder. **At first, she didn't even notice the extra comfort until his voice spoke, breaking her out of her daze. "Dere was nothin' y' could do 'bout it, Rogue."

It was a lie. Completely and utterly false, and Rogue knew it. Rogue could have stopped Wanda's death, prevented the situation all together. If only she hadn't been so stupid…if only she had been stronger, strong enough to fight Secon off. But she hadn't. She was too weak, overcome by the personalities in her mind, overrun by Secon. Wanda was dead, Carol was dead, Secon was dead…she had killed them all.

Wet trails down her cheeks left red streak marks across her pale skin. Remy tugged on her shoulder, perhaps noticing her tears or just knowing that he had to bring Rogue out of the room. Rogue didn't move, lost in thoughts, staring at Wanda's pale face. _"Chere, _stop dis." When Rogue didn't give any sign that she had even heard Remy, Remy grabbed her shoulders and hauled her to her feet. From there, Remy urged Rogue out, steering her by the shoulders. Rogue's movements were mechanical and unreal. At the door, Rogue's neck snapped to the side and she took one final, last look at Wanda before Remy steered her out the door.

The world was blurry to Rogue, only just seeing it through tearful eyes. Remy steered her down the hallway, Rogue wasn't sure where he was taking her, but it didn't matter. Nothing mattered anymore. Rogue had killed…more than once, however unintentionally or forced, it had been her hands that murdered. Her poison touch.

Remy led Rogue back to her gloomy grey room and steered her over to the bed. Lightly seating her, Remy sat down beside her and hugged her close around the shoulders. Silent tears dropped down from Rogue's eyes, gently rolling down her cheeks to land with a quiet splash on Remy's jeans. "Rogue, dis isn't y' fault." Remy started, his grip unconsciously tightening on her shoulder. "Remy know y' gunna blame y'self for dis mess 'cause y' jus' dat kind o' _fille, _but y' shouldn't. Dis burden isn't y's t' bear." Rogue remained silent, so Remy continued. "Dere's a lot o' us out here dat care fo' y' Rogue, Wanda did too. Remy saw what happened in dere, an' y' know what?" Remy's fingers shook slightly. "Y' did Wanda her last favor, Rogue. She's passed on now…gone t' a better place, an' y' helped her before her death, became her friend. She really did care fo' y' Rogue." Remy mused quietly, looking away from Rogue. "I dink dat's why she tol' y' t' absorb her. She knew y'd blame y'self either way…she's gunna try t' help y' get drough dis." Remy hugged her closer. "We all care fo' y' Rogue, me, y' friends at de mansion, y' father…even Mystique." Remy gave a short, sad smile. "An' especially Gracie, dat girl loves y' more dan anythin'—" Remy faltered. "Gracie!" He hopped up, dropping his arm from Rogue's shoulders. Rogue found herself missing the warmth of his body and the shallow comfort of his words. "Remy be right back, _chere._ He needs t' go let Gracie out."

Rogue didn't say anything, only watched him turn and leave with hollow, tired eyes. The door shut softly behind the swish of his trenchcoat and Rogue found herself staring at the same spot on the door where he left.

Remy was nice…but his words were empty. It _was _Rogue's fault and she knew it. All the way back to Secon. Carol was right, she had warned her ahead of time and the result still ended in disaster. And then Carol was next in following, trying to avenge her brother's robbed life; Rogue had also stolen her life. Shortly following…Rogue swallowed, this one hurt most of all. Wanda had been her friend. She'd never been a deceptionist as Rogue had blindly accused. She had actually cared for Rogue; let her in, even after what she suffered as a child.

Wanda had been kind to her even when she hadn't liked her, Rogue realized. She had woken Rogue up from a painful dream simply because she felt bad for her and then allowed Rogue to walk with her, where their friendship began…where Wanda's life was cut short.

_Rogue._ Logan's voice rang throughout her mind. The once calm, comforting psyche she knew was just a simple reminder of all the problems and messed up relationships in her life. _Rogue, I know your hurtin', kid. Remy said pretty much all the sappy stuff you needed to hear, but it's obvious you're not listening. Kid, look, you may blame yourself for it all, wrongly so, but that doesn't mean anything. I know you better than anyone, Rogue. You've got to stop beating yourself over this. Now._

Rogue swallowed thickly as more tears were released from her eyes. _Ah killed them, Logan…Ah killed them all._

Logan made a sound that might have been an irritated grunt. _Kid…I know exactly what you're going through. I went through the same thing before…but I also know that you've got a better heart than I ever did or anyone else I know. You'll cling to this and it'll just tear you apart from the inside out. I…I don't want to see you go through this, Marie._

_It's mah fault, Logan. _Logan's words of comfort were like beestings, long lasting in a way she didn't want to remember.

_It's really not, kid…it's really not._

_Rogue. _A new voice joined the conversation. A painfully familiar, feminine voice. _…You never even told me that it wasn't you. _It was one of the only times Rogue had ever heard Wanda speak without an edge to her voice. It was oddly soothing, hearing her just speak…she had a pleasant voice when she wasn't angry at everything and everyone.

But Rogue was too far distraught to dwell such on little issues. _Oh, God, Wanda, Ah'm so sorry…Ah wasn't strong enough. _A fresh wave of tears overcame Rogue and she buried her face in a pillow to stifle the sounds.

Before the conversation could carry on any further, the door to her room burst open to reveal Remy and a sobbing Gracie who immediately ran forward and flung herself at Rogue on the bed, clutching at her sister in a hug while crying into her shirt. "M-Marie, i-its not ya fa-fault." Gracie cried shakily, her stutter showing the nervous worry in her voice.

"Gracie…" Rogue's voice cracked as she wrapped her arms around Gracie's back and squeezed her tightly. Gracie cried into Rogue's shoulder as Rogue held her, biting back the urge to cry out loud herself, the silent tears streaming down her cheeks were marks enough of her misery.

Remy's eyes scanned over the two heartbroken girls as they lay crying in each others' arms and he swallowed before turning away. Silently, Remy let himself out of the room and quietly shut the door behind him. He wondered if he would ever see Rogue's smile again.

----

**Pietro clutched uselessly at Wanda's lifeless form, holding her upright, hugging her, and sobbing in misery. **It was true that he had got out what he wanted to say to her, but there could have been so much more…All the regrets in his life about Wanda flew through his mind, overwhelming him entirely and making him tremble. He couldn't believe it, he wouldn't accept it. Wanda, dead? After she had struggled through so much, after she had run far away, trying to hide from him and father.

When he found her, she'd been scared. Scared of _him_. Wanda was fearless, but on that day so long ago when he'd finally found her after years of searching…at that point there had been no anger, only fear. From that day on, Pietro had vowed, that no matter what, he would stay by Wanda's side in everything, that he would protect her. She had rebuked him at first and done her best to evade him, but Pietro had always found her in the end. Now…he had failed.

Pietro let out an audible sob and clutched Wanda's still, broken frame to his chest. Hugging her limp body close, as if he were carrying a baby, Pietro stood up. Trying hard to gather and contain himself, Pietro gripped Wanda's body tighter and hurried off.

In just a few minutes he would be faced with his father. Erik would finally get to see his little girl again and it would truly be for the last time. Pietro shut his eyes against his emotions as he zipped through the familiar path by memory. He wasn't afraid of what his father might do; no, he knew he deserved anything that would happen. It was that he feared that Erik might not be able to take it and do something rash to himself in desperation. Pietro wouldn't be able to handle it if he lost two of his loved ones at the same time. It was all too much.

----

**His eyes narrowed in fury to the point that they were nearly slits, like a prowling predator. **His skin was rapidly reknitting itself so that he could breathe easily through his windpipe. Sabertooth lay off to the side, unconscious with a dart sticking out of the side of his neck and several more in his back. Logan noticed none of it, his eyes were solely focused on the blue woman in front of him.

"Mystique." The word was lowly growled out as if despicable, even to the tongue. It was _her_. The bitch.

"Logan." Mystique lowered her dart gun to her side before dropping it uselessly into the dirt. "I've been waiting."

Logan's jaw tightened. He would gladly lunge forward and rip out Mystique's cold heart, but he couldn't yet. "Where's Marie?"

"She's fine Logan, I wouldn't hurt her." Mystique answered his unasked question, avoiding the rest. Logan's hands tightened into fists; he didn't believe her. Mystique must have noticed because she glanced down and then back up at Logan, and gave Logan a light smile "You don't have to believe me."

"Let her go, Mystique." Logan's memory flashed back to the time in the tent, the time while Mystique had impersonated Jean to get to him. "Your fight is with me."

"I do not wish to fight you, Logan." Mystique replied calmly, keeping composure and a straight face.

"Should have thought of that before you kidnapped her." Logan snapped back. His claws extended with an audible _snick._

"Whatever makes you think that I'm keeping her here?" Mystique asked majestically. "Rogue stays on her own free will."

"Liar!" With a deathly howl, he sprung at Mystique. Mystique didn't even move as Logan bowled her over and landed on top of her, claws out and pointed at her throat. Logan's breathing was ragged and harsh, despite the fact that his throat had already healed. His face was flushed above hers as his jaw set.

"I've spoken nothing but the truth." Mystique's voice was still eerily calm; she might as well been having a casual conversation. "There's reason enough behind my actions." She gave a pointed look at the blades pointed at her throat. "You've forgotten much, I'm afraid. I'd rather explain your past not at blade-point."

"Too bad." Logan growled, keeping his claws just above her throat. "You've got a minute before I kill you."

Mystique sighed, but looked resigned. "I'd have to show you."

Mystique didn't say anything more, but a moment later, a purple haired woman stepped out from behind the trees and walked into the clearing. Logan lowered his claws down to Mystique's neck so that the cold metal touched her skin. "Don't come any closer." Logan commanded, eyes trained hawk-like on the new arrival.

"She's a psychic." Mystique explained, and she could feel Logan's back stiffen at the mention. "Elizabeth." Mystique must have been conversing to Elizabeth through telepathy.

Logan felt his hand fall away and his claws snapped back into his forearms. He was lifted off Mystique and set back down against the base of a tree. Logan ground his teeth towards the unwanted actions of his limbs, but there was nothing he could do about it. Mystique sat up and rubbed her neck briefly before turning back to Logan. "Can I trust you to stay there?" She asked him. Logan growled, but Mystique seemed to accept that as agreement. The hold on Logan released.

"You won't believe words, so I'm going to show you through memories." Mystique moved slightly closer so that she was seated in front of him.

"Show me what?"

"The memories." Mystique replied simply. "Some are mine, some are yours, some are both of ours."

"I've never known you before." Logan spat.

Mystique gave him a tired, almost sad smile. "You've forgotten, Logan. I'm going to bring your memories back."

Logan wanted to say something, but he couldn't quite think of what. It was clear that Mystique had the upper hand right now, as she had a psychic with her, so even if Logan objected, his opinion would mean little. "Take me to Marie."

"After you see, I will. I promise."

"Like that means anything." Logan gave her glare that would have made any lesser man wither under its intensity.

Mystique simply took the glare in step and knelt down next to him. "This'll give you a slight jolt." She pressed her palm against one of his shoulders and forced him to lean back against the tree. Logan growled at her in warning and she removed her hand to motion Elizabeth over. Elizabeth knelt down beside him and fixed her eyes on his. Logan closed his eyes at the tingling feeling of another's presence in his mind. Nothing could have prepared him for the flood of memories that was to follow.

----

**"She is fragile and weak now; I'm ready to go to the mansion."**

A slightly deeper, but still feminine voice answered her. "Just play your part, Irene and we'll do the rest. It'll be as if the incident never happened before. You'll have your lover back…now go, and do your part. The sooner Rogue is ours, the sooner you get Mystique back."

The blind woman nodded accordingly. It was the only way she could truly have Raven back, the only way for them to bond again. Raven must forget everything from that dreadful day onward. If it meant happiness with Raven again, Irene would do anything.

**A/N: I'm sorry this is so short and just as bad as a cliffie as the last one, but I will try to get the next update out quicker and it'll be more eventful. Sorry for all these delays and such.**


	20. Shattered

_**Logan paused, sniffing the air experimentally.**__ There was a smell of stale sweat that hadn't been there before, a putrid odor of grease. His ears picked up the faint 'click' of the man's shoes as they tapped against the ground. Still, these were not the signs Logan was looking for. He had noticed these well beforehand; the guards traveled along the same route, it was time for another passing. But beyond that, Logan heard something else._

_It was very faint; the sound of bare footsteps padding against a solid, rock foundation. The person was skilled, that much was for sure. Logan couldn't even determine where the noise was coming from. He tried sniffing the air again to get a more exact feel for the other intruder and his nose picked up on a slight, very miniscule, feminine aroma._

_Logan was still trying to obtain specifics from his senses when the sound of a muffled cry broke the stillness. It wasn't loud enough to reach past Logan's location, but Logan's sensitive hearing picked up the vibrations anyway. His right eyebrow quirked upwards in amusement. Apparently, the other intruder was taking a different course of action. Rather than be discrete, she was simply taking out the guards. Well, he could deal with that._

_Still, the intruder might be after the same thing he was. Logan had to make sure that he was the one who obtained the disc. Striker needed the information on those files; he couldn't afford to get sidetracked by a slight change of plans. _

_Logan peered out from his hiding spot, making sure that he was still concealed enough to be hidden as he did so. His features took on a feral, interested expression as his eyes found the intruder._

_She was nothing like he'd ever seen before, and that was saying something, as Logan had seen some pretty extreme things during his lifetime. Her body was entirely blue and also entirely naked, covered only by a layer of scales that covered only certain areas of her body. She was extremely fit; her lack of outfit made all her curves easy to find and Logan's eyes hesitated on those curves, a pleasant chill running down his spine. Effortlessly, she grabbed the fallen guard's clothes and dragged him off to a corner, depositing his body behind several boxes._

_Despite his interest, Logan almost snorted at the action. The woman was not being precautious enough. Logan had timed all the guards' routes and another guard should be appearing within seconds. Even if the woman wasn't caught, the guard would notice that his companion was not crossing him where he should be and an alarm would be sounded. It meant as much trouble for Logan as it did for her._

_Logan was about to move on from the spot, which would become a hotspot for trouble within seconds, when something else the woman was doing caught his eye. Despite his better instinct, curiosity got the better of him and he stayed to watch as the woman started…Logan didn't know, exactly. Morphing? That would accurately describe it. The woman was transforming into the fallen guard, clothes and everything. Her flesh seemed to ripple before it altered, changing her from the attractive, blue woman into the guard she had just taken out. _

_Logan blinked as the new guard stepped out from the shadowy alcove just as the next guard was happening by. He nodded towards the guard respectfully and moved on. As soon as his back was to her, the woman…or was it a man, now? Aimed a kick high for the back of the second guard's neck. She hit a weak area and the guard crumpled to the floor. Again, (s)he dragged off the body and deposited it near the first one. It appeared as if (s)he was going to stay there, waiting. _

_Logan mused to himself. If the intruder wanted to wait off and take care of all the guards first, that was her prerogative. It would simply make his job easier. Besides, now that the woman had changed forms into that of one of the boring guards, Logan had indefinably lost interest. He crouched back under the box he was taking shelter in and began making his way across the warehouse to the security rooms. He had a job, after all, and he had to focus._

_The boxes lined the wall all the way to the corridor of the security rooms. It was easy work, making his way through to the back rooms. An amateur would have been able to accomplish it easily, but not with the stealth that Logan had. Even someone of his own extraordinary senses would have a hard time tracking him down. His footfalls were so light; he could almost barely hear them himself. Nevertheless, he stayed on high alert, aware that the woman back there might accidently pull an alarm trigger, or even that he could slip up. _

_He reached his destination and paused behind an empty barrel, peering through the window for signs of life and honing down on his senses. His hearing picked up the buzz of a row of computers and the stench of an old turkey sandwich before his eyes did. Sure enough, his gaze landed on a row of computers. Three men sat at the desk. One was staring at the screens with such livid attention, it was as if his very life depended on those screens. The sight of it brought a small smile to Logan's face. The newly-hired guard, for that could be distinguished by his manor, would not be seeing anything of interest on those screens for quite awhile. It had been the first step of his mission: rewiring the security cameras, putting them on replay of their empty screens so that he would be virtually invisible to their lenses. Yes, he could easily have avoided them otherwise, and he had practiced doing so, but it was always better to be safe than to be rash._

_The other two guards were less interested in the monitors. One of them, a particularly fat one, was chewing noisily on his turkey sandwich, unaware, or perhaps uncaring of the sloppy mayonnaise that was dripping down into his lap. The last one was a thickly muscled, obviously trained guy. He was reading a book, but doing so with an attentive ear for anything out of place. He wasn't solely focused on the job, but aware nonetheless. Logan's small grin turned into a full smile. He looked like a man worth fighting._

_There were two doors to get through before he was in the security room. Within the second door were the three guards. He'd have to get through the first without raising an alarm and then proceed through the second, take the men by surprise and take them out before anyone had time to alert others. That was the easy part. Logan was on a timeline to extract the disc before replacement guards showed up and then make his way back to the middle of the warehouse to escape through the skylight before the bomb he had set went off. From the roof, a helicopter would pick him up at precisely 7:45. Logan had thirty minutes to finish his mission. It was more than enough time._

_Quiet enough to make a mouse blush, Logan made his way up to the door and started working on the lock. It didn't take him long. Logan had learned to pick locks long ago and, although he wasn't as good at it as some, the skill had not altogether been too difficult to pick up. The familiar 'click' of the lock mechanism being manipulated made Logan pause in his administrations to see if anyone had heard, but all sounded normal. It was unlikely that anyone had even noticed, yet Logan knew his job was supposed to be done incognito; he was only supposed to reveal his presence if absolutely necessary. Logan was too professional to let himself be caught._

_Logan let himself through the door and quietly shut it behind him. He was faced with a long, dimly lit hallway. There was a bathroom to one end of the hallway and another door at the front that led into the security room. The would be no reason to lock the security room since the only other door from the hallway was locked, but still, Logan made sure of it first. The handle was slick in his hands, cold to the touch. There was only one way to approach this and ensure absolute success._

_Logan yanked the door open and pounced inside. At the sound of the creaking door and the light that entered from the hallway, all three men's gazes turned to the door. Monitor-obsessed man jumped back in his seat in shock, for no one had appeared on the trusty screens. Muscle man's eyes narrowed and he threw back the book carelessly, jumping to his feet. Fatty didn't even get a chance to re-act. For he was the closest one to the door and therefore the first one Logan reached. Even if he had quick reactions, he wouldn't have been able to foresee Logan crashing through the door or react quick enough to stop him. Logan swiftly executed a jab to the back of his neck and the man's eyes rolled up into his head, his hand dropping to his side with his sandwich falling to the floor. _

_Monitor-man came back to his senses and leapt up from his chair, presumably to hit the alarm button like a good security boy ought to. He never got the chance. Logan, foreseeing this possibility, had already calculated the seconds it would take him to reach the alarm. Without even pausing to take a breath after taking out Fat boy, Logan pressed the attack continuously by kicking out at the bottom of Monitor-man's chair precisely at the same moment he jumped out of it. _

_The resulting surprise from such an action was that Monitor-man lost his balance and toppled to the ground. Before he could raise himself off the floor, Logan was on top of him, squeezing the sides of his neck, his jugular veins, to cut off oxygen to the brain. Logan's other hand flew to the man's temples where he applied pressure. The double attack was quick and effective. The man tried to moan, but only got out a gasp before he too fell unconscious. Logan rolled off of Monitor-man and summer-salted to his feet, facing Muscle-man. _

_ Muscle was eyeing him cautiously, casting just a simple glance at his fallen companions. It didn't look as if he was going to go for the alarm, more that he was just surprised by Logan, but still expecting to win. Logan's smile turned feral and a low growl issued from his lips. It was fun for Logan, just like practice. _

_Muscle didn't look like he would approach any time soon, so Logan jumped in first. He lunged at Muscle, fist drawn back to punch the guy in the jaw. Muscle ducked below the blow and tucked in under and around Logan, so that he was at his backside. From there, Muscle aimed a kick at the back of Logan's knees. Logan's legs gave way from under him and his knees connected solidly with the floor. For such a big man, Muscle was pretty agile._

_Muscle lifted his leg to smash his booted foot into Logan's turned back, but Logan was too quick for him. Without even pausing when he fell, Logan bent low to the ground and rolled over to his side. The boot missed by a fraction of an inch. Logan kicked out at Muscle's shin before the man had time to re-orient himself from his kick. Muscle yelped when Logan's shoe connected with his kneecap and staggered back a few steps._

_Logan pressed his momentary advantage by diving forward and punching Muscle in the face, grinning in satisfaction as he heard Muscle's nose crack under his knuckles. Before Logan could get in another hit, Muscle spat a mouthful of blood at Logan's face and Logan reeled back for a second to wipe the sticky goop out of his eyes. Muscle took good use of the opportunity to throw Logan off him into the computers. Logan's back hit the metal and Muscle was at him before he could blink, kicking him in the stomach while he was down, just like a coward._

_Logan howled and grabbed Muscle's foot as it came for another kick. He shoved Muscle back forcefully and Muscle tripped back again. Logan swiftly reached into his back pocket and withdrew a switchblade. He charged at Muscle again and dove the switchblade into his shoulder. Muscle elbowed him in the face and followed with a punch that landed against Logan's throat. Logan choked for a second and Muscle withdrew the blade from his shoulder, charging back at Logan with his own weapon. Logan caught Muscle's arm before he could land the blow and the two had a strength arm-wrestle over the blade. It dipped down low, cutting slightly into Logan's shoulder and dragged downwards. Muscle grinned sadistically at the sight of Logan's blood._

_The grin faded from his face within seconds. As he drew the blade deeper downwards, the cut above started to re-knit itself back together. Muscle froze, staring in fascination. Logan took his opponent's distraction for all it was worth and squeezed Muscle's fingers tightly, making him drop the blade. Logan kicked Muscle off of him and dove for the blade, clutching it between his fingers. Muscle charged one last time as Logan turned around and impaled him once more with the blade, this time through the throat. Blood squirted everywhere as Muscle's eyes widened in horror a second before he dropped to the ground, dead. _

_Logan brushed himself off as he stood up and cursed the blood stains on his uniform. The entire fight had lasted nearly ten minutes, three minutes more than Logan had timed for. He went to the row of computers and inserted a disc into one of them. Fingers twitching as his skin finished re-knitting itself across his chest, Logan searched the computer for the data files he needed. _

_It was seven minutes later that he had finished downloading all that he needed and popped the disc out. He turned towards the door and stopped at the sight of the blue woman from before. Logan let his eyes roam over her naked body as he took in her sensual form. She had all the right curves, hindered by absolutely nothing. A body to die for. His eyes alighted as they fell upon her face and her mysterious yellow eyes allured him._

_An expression of haughty pleasure came over her features as she recognized him seizing her up. Her right eyebrow lifted in curiosity to him and a small smile flickered over her lush lips. Her eyes traveled down and fell onto the disc in his hand. Logan followed her gaze as her tongue flicked out and licked her bottom lip. Logan's expression flickered._

_"I don't think so darlin'." The woman didn't wait to be provoked further. Instead, she lashed out and kicked Logan in the stomach. Even though her kick surprisingly hurt, Logan didn't let it faze him and swung out an arm to catch her temple. She ducked the blow with miraculous speed landed a stiff arm against his abdomen. _

_Logan bucked a little, but grabbed her arm and yanked her forward, spinning her quickly so that she was crushed against his body. He wrapped an arm around her neck and flexed so the muscle would choke her. _

_Without losing her wits, the woman laced back her arms over his shoulders with incredible flexibility and latched her hands together around his neck. She kicked back with her heel against his shin and his leg buckled. From there, she took the opportunity to strain her muscles and completely flip them both over in an aerial summersault that left him flat on his back with her on his chest. She winced, her eyes straying to her wrist for a moment. _

_Logan threw up his hands and grabbed her shoulders. He kneed her in the stomach and rolled to the side when she gasped so that their positions were switched. "Top or bottom hunny, you look good on both sides." He taunted her, letting in some of his pent up humor. _

_"And you underestimate." She brought up her knee right in-between his legs and Logan choked, rolling off to the side and cussing. The woman snatched up the disc from his loose fingers and leaned over him. "You have only six minutes left…darlin'." Logan tried to sit up, but she put her foot against his chest and kicked him back down. "Down boy."_

_"Ordering now?" Logan grinned and grabbed her leg with his hands, twisting her over so she fell beside him. "Might give people the impression you're a dominatrix."_

_She rolled to the side, away from his grasp. "Wouldn't want to trick them otherwise." She pulled out a gun—Logan couldn't even tell from where. "Goodnight, bad boy."_

_She shot him once in the chest and Logan fell back, groaning. By the time he got to his feet again the gun and the woman were gone. Logan cussed. There wasn't enough time to make another copy, he had perhaps only three minutes before the bomb went off. Abandoning covertness, there was no one he'd run into now, Logan quickly made his way back to the middle of the warehouse. He quickly scaled the boxes and hopped from the highest one to the skylight, which was slightly open. Logan hauled himself up and kicked it further open before jumping out himself. The helicopter was already up and leaving. Logan ran the roof distance to it and jumped, catching hold of one the legs of the copter. He pulled himself up and readied for the report of a failed mission. In the distance behind him an explosion rocked the earth._

--

_**It wasn't the last time he would see her.**__ Logan never expected to find the mysterious blue woman again, but he did and in a rather pleasing turn of events._

_He was in hospital for animals. At least, that was the front. The supposed vet that he was actually in only housed mutants, not any other kind of four legged mammals. In the basement of the complex, locked far under ground and out of the way, was a huge captivity bay for the mutants. Each were held in separate cells, not any two mutants were contained together. And each had their cell specifically altered for their specific ability._

_Logan was to retrieve the data from these experiments. Logan knew little of what Stryker actually wanted with the discs, but assumed it had something to do with his son, who he'd recently discovered was a mutant. All the same, it didn't matter._

_Logan's nose wrinkled at the scent of anesthetics and other drugs used in the area. Cages lined him left and right where hateful glares followed his movements. He was disguised as a doctor so it was normal these mutants would throw their anger to him. They didn't know the information he would get could set them free. _

_Logan strolled down the corridor to the end of the hallway where the lab of computer equipment would be. He had almost reached his destination when a voice called out. "So the bad boy is back from the dead."_

_A light smile graced his features and he turned to the caller with a quirked eyebrow. "And the woman is contained, I see." It was indeed the woman who greeted his sight. Still in her blue, naked form, she stood behind bars of a cage, eyeing him suspiciously._

_"Fancy a change of job?"_

_Logan chuckled mirthlessly. "What brought you here, to the lions' den?"_

_"Nothing you wouldn't have done, I'm sure." She scanned him with her eyes. "You recover miraculously."_

_"I'm a lucky guy, what can I say?" Logan inspected the cage. It didn't appear to have any special features for her mutation, but he might be wrong._

_She was silent for a minute. "Care to help out a fellow mutant?" _

_"Last I recall, I saw you at a warehouse and you stole my mission and left me to die."_

_"Are you looking for an apology?"_

_"No, darlin', I'm astonished by your spite." Logan turned; ready to return to his mission._

_"I can make it worth your wild." The woman responded._

_"You'll have to do better than that, sweetheart."_

_"I don't just mean money-wise."_

_"Yeah, I figured that." Logan shook his head. "What's to say you don't bolt the second you're free?"_

_"Mutual interest, maybe."_

_Logan fingered his pocket. "Sorry darlin', I ain't ruinin' another mission for you."_

_"There's a detector outside the computer lab. You won't be able to get in."_

_Logan let a feral, snarling grin overcome his features. "I'll be back if there is."_

_Satisfied, the woman leaned back against the bars of her cage, waiting for his return. He came back only moments later, lifting an eyebrow at her. "Interesting catch." He reached into his pocket and lifted out what looked like a pen. "Watch yourself sweetheart." Logan warned. A red beam shot out from the tip of the pen and cut through the steel effortlessly. _

_"The alarm." The woman warned. It was too late though, as the alarm had already been set off. Logan grinned and continued his work. _

_"Nothin' like a little danger."_

_"You said it." The woman smiled. "I'm Mystique, by the way."_

_"You certainly are." The bars around the lock cut, Logan pushed open the door and motioned for Mystique to come out. They fled the complex together, the beginning link of a life to follow._

--

_**They were lying on the bed, both contented after a long night of activity**__. It wasn't the first of such either. No, after the rescue they had often been comfortable in each others company and the warmth warded off the cold chill of night. So tonight, they similarly lie. Mystique, or Raven as Logan now knew her, was huddled close to Logan's abdomen, her head resting on his shoulder as he stroked her hair. _

_They had come a long way from the rescue at the hospital front. That had been eight long months ago. In-between then, the two had sought each other out with mutual intent. It was rarely spoken of between them, but the simple pleasures had grown deeply into a remarkable relationship. It wasn't 'normal' as others would tag it, but it suited them both fine. They lived together in a large house situated by woods and not far from Stryker's base, where Logan worked. Mystique herself also did jobs, and although they were similar to Logan's, hers was one job per pay. She didn't trust anyone enough to become a permanent employer and often told Logan that he was foolish for doing so himself._

_The two were both professional undercover workers. They had their own methods and ideas, but they had come to the mutual consent of each other. Logan was content with Mystique and she had fallen for him in turn. _

_They were silent for a long while before Raven chose to break the peace._

_"I'm pregnant." She announced, eyeing Logan for his reaction. _

_"That's what happens when you insist on not using safety practices." Logan seemed unaffected by the news, but Raven knew his mind was turning over the idea._

_"It's yours."_

_"You're sure?" Logan asked with a mocking smile. Raven hit him in the stomach and he coughed, then laughed again. "Well, why else would you say something like that?" He shook his head. "And your intentions with this?"_

_"I'm going to keep it." Mystique replied firmly. She had given it a lot of thought before telling Logan and she was set in her decision. _

_"And…the catch to all this is…?"_

_"We're going to be married."_

_"Oh?" Logan asked. "And you decided this for us?"_

_"Yes."_

_"Save me the pain of trying to be romantic?"_

_"I thought that'd be best."_

_Logan sighed deeply. "I guess I don't need this ring anymore." He took a small box out of his pocket and prepared to throw it at the floor. Mystique hit him again and snatched the box from his fingers, prying it open with her own. A glittering, gold-banded ring showed forth from the soft cushion. It had a green emerald instead of a diamond in the middle, surrounded on all sides by tiny red rubies._

_"You've…"_

_Logan smiled softly. "I thought about it."_

_"I love you." Mystique whispered._

_Logan hugged her close. "And I, you."_

--

_**They married and, for a short time, they obtained bliss. **But happiness would not stand to last for the couple and time soon saw it to draw them apart._

_It started with the new employer. Mystique insisted upon working until she could not anymore and Logan had relented to let her. The new employer was a self-assured mutant who worked for 'the brotherhood of mutants'. Logan hadn't liked the man at all, but he had continually hired Mystique and paid her well for her services. It got to a point that she signed on as a permanent member, despite her grievances with doing such a thing. The employer, Magneto, had never harmed her or showed signs of duplicity. Still, Logan loathed the prospect of her working under such a tyrant, obsessed in his ideals as he was._

_Mystique herself was ever-more trusting of her employer than she should have been. His talks were inspirational and he never spoke a word that was unnecessarily said. His ideals were strong and the passion with which he followed them was admirable. After many missions under him and many discussions in private, she became his equal, rather than his lackey. He trusted her with all of his most private thoughts and secrets and she shared many of her own. It was a mutual respect; nothing of what she had with Logan, but she knew that she would try to do anything for Magneto as well._

_Logan himself was also concerned with his own work. Stryker had proposed a new idea that was being discussed. He wanted to infuse a skeleton with the metal known as adamantium. It was the hardest known substance on earth, durable of nearly anything. This process was dangerous and no normal human would be able to survive it, but Logan was no normal human. Stryker had presented the idea to him as his choice; the men were too well acquainted with each other for Stryker to try any unpleasantries with Logan. Logan knew Stryker had plans for this idea, plans with his field of work. He was in the midst of considering the project. _

_The project with which Mystique wanted him to have nothing to do with. But all the same, it was his choice and he was seriously considering having the experiment done. He trusted Stryker greatly; Stryker would do nothing to harm him. Further, Logan made the best candidate because his mutation apparently stopped him from aging. This was good for the project because his body physic would not change and his bones would remain in place and strong._

_ It was in the final month of her pregnancy that Logan decided to give Stryker the go-ahead on the project. He had his reasons, but above all, now that he was going to be a father, Logan didn't want anything to happen to him on one of his missions. He wouldn't leave his daughter alone with only a mother to raise her. After explaining this and his other reasons to Mystique, she had relented, but was still wary of the operation, especially so close to her giving birth. _

_Mystique had impersonated a doctor at the lab so she would be allowed to be with her husband during the operation. She had watched the whole thing occur. The doctors above him discussed what would happen while he was being injected with the metal. Everything seemed to be going fine until they started covering his skull._

_The surgeon who cut him and began lacing his skull with metal was the first to raise the alarm. From there, the doctors rushed to and fro, trying to correct the minor error in miscalculation that the surgeon had made. The liquid hot metal had touched against his brain in one spot. The surgeon was cutting off the brain tissue and made an announcement that made Mystique's blood run cold. _

_"It's burned into his brain…I've cut out the spot…he'll have no memory of his previous life before now." She screamed, transforming back into her self and trying to rush to Logan's side, but the doctors stopped her, they dragged her away. Mystique cried out for Logan, but he couldn't hear her, he wasn't conscious. The security dragged her down to Stryker's office where they threw her in and locked the door. Even with her training, there was no way out of the room. It was long, long hours before anyone saw her. _

_Stryker himself came to talk to her, recognizing her for Logan's wife. "There's been an accident." Stryker said gravelly, his voice like those of the doctors who came to tell you of death._

_"What happened? Where is he?" Mystique was frantic, borderline hysteric._

_He told her everything then, what had happened, how the error had occurred, and how, at the end, Logan had run. Mystique, sobbing and hysterical, ran for the door to find him, but the security stopped her. Stryker, the man whom Logan had trusted with his life, stopped her from finding him. "You can't leave." He told her. "Your talents are too valuable."_

_He locked her up then and refused to let her out until she swore to pledge to do his will. In sheer broken-hearted spite, she refused to do so and lay there in her solidity, pregnant child nearly ready to be born in a cold, dank cell. Weeks passed and no hope presented itself._

_That was when he came. Her savior. Magneto promised to let her free and also the safety of her as long as she continued to work as his equal and gave up her child. Mystique begged him to let her keep her baby, but he would not hear of it. It would be too difficult for her to raise a child and continue the work he sought of her. He had freed her then and when the child was born, he found a proper home for the baby, although he refused to tell her where, but gave her proof enough that the child would be well cared for and happy._

_While she wasn't serving Magneto and his noble deeds, she was searching for Logan and her child. Both proved to be fruitless searches. Logan had apparently disappeared from the face of the earth and Magneto had covered his tracks much too well for any success. Still, she continued looking, though it became obvious to her that she would never find them. _

_Her devotion towards Magneto grew much with time. For fifteen years beyond that, she served him faithfully and was his equal. He treated her as if she were the most important aspect of his brotherhood. As time went on and hope dwindled, she grew to love Magneto, but never spoke of it to him or anyone. Her devotion grew and she knew in her heart that she would always follow him._

_When she had fought Logan at Liberty Island, she knew it was him, but her devotion to Magneto had grown impenetrable. Logan did not even remember her or any of the past and there was little reason to dwell, although she had tried to re-awaken his memories while the professor had been captured. His coldness revealed that he still remembered nothing of her._

_It was a sad reminder that she would never again have what she once did, but her mind was made up by then. She had pledged in her heart to stay by Magneto's side for all the kindness he had shown her through the years and for saving her and her child from death in Stryker's cell._

_Then, it had happened. Something she never would have deemed possible after giving a lifetime of servitude to the man. Magneto had betrayed her. He left her naked and alone, powerless and with nothing. The man she had grown to love, the man she had given a lifetime to, fifteen years of serving him faithfully, giving him everything he ever required from her…and he turned his back on her. Mystique's heart went cold._

_She wanted to be loved again. It was all she had ever wanted and it had been ripped from her when Logan had left. It was all she wanted…_

"STOP!" Logan screamed, sweating profusely and drawing in air as if he'd just run a league. "Stop…" It was weakly said the second time, the request of a man who'd been put to torture and meekly asking for death.

The movie-like vision of the missing years vanished before his eyes and Mystique stood above him. She knelt down so that she was eyelevel with him. Logan drew in tight, painful breaths as the purple-haired woman behind them faded out of sight. Logan drew up his head and his eyes locked on Mystique's. "Raven…" Logan echoed, throat tight.

It was also hard for Mystique to speak. She had awaited this moment, Logan's recognition of her, for more than fifteen years. "James…" That had been his name…his name, Logan remembered. His name was James.

"I—"

"Please." Mystique begged, tears clouding her eyes. Logan beheld the face of the woman who had lost him, whom he had lost himself. Her eyes were shining with hope—hope that he wouldn't reject her, turn her away. Hope that…

Logan reached out his hands and moved in closer to Mystique. His arms wrapped around her small frame as his lips bent down to hers, capturing them in a sensual, gentle kiss. Mystique's stiff back relaxed into his arms and she similarly wrapped her arms around him, kissing him back. It was a soul-revealing kiss; all the emotion, pent up from long years was pushed into it. The feel of his lips on her mouth, of his familiar, but forgotten tongue against her own…Logan drew back and clamped her close, arms wrapped protectively around her. "I'm sorry."

Tears fell from her eyes. "Don't leave me."

"I won't. Never again." It would be a long time before they broke from the embrace.


	21. Heart Breaker

**Erik couldn't breathe.** His heart sped as if to make up for lack of air and he felt faint. His mind wouldn't comprehend what his eyes were seeing. It was impossible to believe. As if his worst fears, his nightmares from hell were being born before his eyes. He must be having a delusion, although he knew it wasn't true. Pietro's words were far off and indistinguishable in the distance. He couldn't accept what his eyes told him was true. Wanda, his little girl, could not be dead.

Tears streamed down his face without him even realizing it as he bent over her still form and touched her hair, willing her to open those bruised eyes and scream at him, curse him, anything. No such thing happened. Wanda's pale features remained motionless, caught in an everlasting sleep. "No." The word was an utterance of despair. Erik clutched her body to his chest. "Please, no…" It was amazing how much heartache could be heard within two words, but Erik's soul emptied with them.

Wanda. He would never again hear her soothing voice nor her cry of help. Her anger too was gone forever. He hadn't seen her face to face in four years and now he would never be able to again. His heart shattered and he would never be able to mend the pieces. Wanda, the child he'd unintentionally scarred for life, his one and only regret, she was gone, obliterated. Erik sobbed into her corpse, the one and only reminder of her life. He stayed there for hours, crying his soul out into the cold fingers of her lifeless body. Nothing would ever be right again.

After hours of sitting there, clutching her body to his, Erik trembled with fright. He clasped her hand tightly and looked away, unable to even stare her in the face in death while he spoke the words she would never hear, the words he had longed to tell her for four long years.

"Wanda, my precious Wanda, I never meant for this to happen. I know you think I'm cold and heartless and you're right, to an extent, but I would never have thought…I was caught up in my grief and I let you go. I let you suffer…no, these are not excuses, I did what I did and I paid for it dearly. I just always wanted…I'm sorry, Wanda. There are not words for the depth of sorrow that my soul suffers in or a pathway of regret that is longer than my own. I cannot give words to how much I need you to hear this…you're gone, my angel, but I have to think…I must believe that you can hear my words. That somehow you can feel how wretched I feel from my deed against you. No man has ever lived in more despair…You've always been in my thoughts Wanda and I've misdirected it all in hope to live in a free world with you. I-I can't…I love you, Wanda. If you're dead, then so am I."

His words to her in no way described the depths of his mournful soul to their full extent, but he had to believe that wherever Wanda was now, she had heard his heart cry out for her. And if she was no longer a being anywhere in the world, then he himself felt the need to release his spirit as hers had been. His purpose in life, his ultimate intention of apologizing to his daughter and holding her in his arms, had failed. He had no reason to continue this bleak existence.

A sharp knife flew from the table and into his extended hand. He raised his hand over his shattered heart, preparing to plunge the blade deep into himself. A whirl of wind caught spare papers from his desk and flew them up. Erik brought the knife down to his chest and—the blade stopped by the pull on his arm that pulled up against his own. Erik stared into the panicked eyes of his son.

"Dad, no!" Erik's fingers slipped from the handle as he took in Pietro. The boy's eyes were red, obviously showing that he'd been crying recently. His white hair was frayed and unkempt, pointing out in several areas where the gell had dissolved. He fell back as Erik let go of the knife and stayed on the floor, breathing hard and unsteady. His left hand was wrapped in a white gauze that was stained red on both sides of his palm. His features were strained and tears were coming again to his eyes. "Please." Pietro puffed. "I need you, dad."

Dad. Erik's guilt expanded. For years, even throughout his fury and madness, Pietro had forever stood by his side. Even when Pietro had found Wanda, he still stayed loyally with Erik to give him updates of how she was. And now he had brought back her body to him, suffering as much as he was, and Erik had nearly killed himself in a moment of selfish desperation. He had two children and for years he had continually neglected the one in a never-ending search for the other, even used Pietro to get information of Wanda.

Erik held out his arms to Pietro. "Pietro." The word came out as a sob of desperation. Pietro went to Erik and wordlessly embraced him. Erik couldn't remember the last time he had hugged his son. His body shook with his cries and Pietro held him tightly, refusing to let go. "I'm sorry." Erik was a broken man. "I'm so sorry, my son." The two wept, holding each other in an embrace that had not been felt for four long years. The lamentation would forever change them both.

--

**It was a long time later that Mystique broke the silence that had developed between them. **Still in each other's arms, Mystique pressed her cheek against Logan's chest and spoke, breaking the stillness. "Our daughter needs you."

Logan pushed her shoulders back and stared into her face, absorbing the details and burning the image into his mind, cursing that he'd ever forget such a beautiful face. "You've found her?" Logan asked, his voice filled with emotion. It would take time to simply adjust to the new revelations he had discovered, but this…

"You know her." Mystique revealed softly. "She is already like a daughter to you." Logan's mind raced, but he could only think of one person who he thought of as a daughter.

It all clicked in Logan's mind. Why else would Mystique have hired Sabertooth to kidnap her? All this time while he'd been searching and she had been in the safe quarters of her mother's home. "It's…Rogue?" Logan's breath caught in his throat. Mystique nodded silently and laid her head back against Logan's chest, where his heart was thumping wildly. His world swirled around him as every encounter with the girl flashed before his eyes, from the time she had hitched in his truck to their meeting at Xavier's, her kidnap at Liberty Island…Logan breathed in deeply, stunned. He didn't even know how to react. Relief, over everything, was what he felt most at the discovery. He let the emotion overcome and calm him. "You must tell me everything."

Mystique nodded, quiet for another minute while resting against Logan's warm chest. She gripped his hand tightly and they sat down at the base of a tree while Mystique relayed the story to him, from picking Rogue up to the fight as it had been described to her and the final result from all that had taken place. Logan nodded accordingly, his grip tightening on hers as the story progressed. By the time Mystique had told him all that she knew, it was dark out and the sun was dipping low on the horizon. Logan watched its slow progression while thinking over what he had heard. His heart ached for Rogue; he knew exactly how she would take the deaths of those set against her and of her friend, Wanda.

"I need to speak to her."

"I know." Mystique paused. "She's devastated. I couldn't…couldn't protect her."

Logan's grip tightened on her slender hand again. "It's not your fault." He stood, pulling Mystique to her feet as well. "Show me to her?"

Mystique began leading him back to the mansion, still gripping his palm tightly in her own.

--

**Gracie had fallen asleep. **Rogue watched her sister's calm face, tenderly brushing back a piece of hair that had fallen into her face. Gracie looked so peaceful; the little red lines from her tears had already dried up and no evidence of her shared despair with Rogue remained. Rogue sighed deeply and rolled over onto her back to stare at the ceiling, searching for answers.

Rogue's discovery that she had killed three people shattered her soul and made her heart thump heavily in her chest. No matter what anyone said, psyche or otherwise, that's what Rogue had done and she would have to live up to it. She wouldn't hide from her deeds, but confront them and suffer for it. She didn't know what else she could do.

That was another matter. Rogue didn't know what to do or where to go from here. She would have liked to stay at the mansion Mystique had built, but she didn't think she could. Everyone around her, those who she became close to, they all ended up getting hurt and in someway, it all linked back to her. The most caring thing she could do for those she loved was to leave, but the thought made her blood run cold. Where would she go? She couldn't start a life like a normal person. That wouldn't lead anywhere but to more pain and Rogue hated being the cause of pain. The thought of being homeless again made her shiver.

She had considered suicide. Rogue was against ending your own pain just because it was tough, but her situation went beyond that. She'd be ending others pain as well. Still, the idea hadn't blossomed in her because she knew she would never fall to such desperation; she had too much to live for still, even though those options looked bleak at the moment. And besides that, she had promised Wanda that she could exist in peace. If Wanda obtained that in her mind, then Rogue was in no place to jeopardize it for her own reasons.

Rogue was stuck. She couldn't think of what to do next, she was caught up in misery of the deaths she had caused, and she had no where to turn for answers to these impossible questions. She breathed in deeply, trying to clear away her thoughts and start off from a clean slate of ideas.

_Rogue. _Rogue's throat tightened at the voice and her hands shook.

_Wanda._ Tears returned to Rogue's eyes.

_Don't cry. _Wanda's voice was soft and soothing, yet it only brought back the image of her prone body and Rogue trembled at the thought. _Please._

The picture of Wanda's body remained in Rogue's mind eye, as if burned into her sight. _Ah killed ya…_

Wanda sighed deeply. _I understand that I'm not going to be able to convince you otherwise on this, but Rogue, please, don't cry. I'm happy now._

_Happy?_ Rogue's protest was meek and disbelieving. She didn't have the energy for anything more.

_Yes._ Wanda confirmed. _I don't have to be afraid in here._

_You're never afraid. _Rogue argued, not sure what Wanda meant or was aiming for. _Ah've never seen ya scared._

_I've lived my life completely blanketed in fear. I've always been afraid…what if something happened to Pietro? What if Magneto found me? Would I ever live a normal life without this terror? I've constantly been on the move in case Pietro let it slip where I was; Mystique's was the first place I've stayed for over a month._

_Yeah, but …but now ya will never get that life…the dream Ah took from ya._

Wanda shook her head. _That's where you're wrong, Rogue. I exist in your mind without this fear, with company to speak with, and with everything provided. It's like I've finally been given peace, thanks to you._

_But…Erik exists in mah mahnd too. And now…Pietro's alone…because Ah stole ya away._

_I'd like to talk about that. _Wanda asked softly. _I…have a request._

_Anything. _Rogue agreed. She would give Wanda anything she wanted; Wanda's life had been stolen by her so no matter what Wanda asked for, she would have it.

_When I saw Erik in the woods…_Wanda hesitated a moment. _I felt him. His feelings, his despair and I saw certain flashes of his memory before I cut that off. If you would…_

_What is it? Anything Wanda, Ah'll do anythin'._

Wanda inhaled deeply. _I would like to speak to my father. The real one, I mean. I could never face him before, but now…_

_Where is he? _Rogue asked, ignoring her own emotions of fear and those of Wanda's.

_Pietro should know. He's probably run off with my body to Erik right now though…so you'll have to wait for him to return._

_Will he return? _Rogue asked, slightly doubtful.

Wanda nodded, sure of herself. _He will come back for my stuff._

_How do Ah convince him ta tell meh where he is? _Rogue questioned, avoiding mentioning Erik's name. This would be painful for Wanda, she knew, after years of running from Erik, to finally confront him…Rogue admired her courage.

_Just leave that to me... Can you wait in my room for him? _

Rogue bit down hard on her bottom lip. _Yes, I will._

_Thank you, Rogue. You're an angel. _Rogue choked at Wanda's words. An angel, Rogue couldn't think of anything she was less like. The comparison was like a kick in the face. _Think what you will, Rogue, but you should know that you have saved me, that makes you my angel, if nothing else._

Rogue swallowed thickly and carefully extracted herself from the bed, cautious to not move the mattress and wake Gracie.

Rogue paused for a minute, thinking, and then gently touched the wood handle on the dresser drawer to write a note. The wooden handle splintered in her fingers and Rogue drew back her arm, alarmed, as the handle fell to the floor in small splinters. Rogue's breathing accelerated as her heart thumped loudly in her chest. _What's happening to meh?_ She wondered, staring with wide eyes at the drawer. She stared down at her fingers and experimentally flexed her hand. Her muscles were tight, her skin stretched taut around them. Rogue lifted her sleeve and flexed her arm. She marveled at the muscle on her arm that had obviously not been as pronounced before. Her muscles were huge, but shapely in her arm. There was no way, even with this newly toned muscle mass that apparently came from nowhere, that Rogue's hand should have splintered the wood in her grasp.

Rogue tightened her hand into a fist then relaxed it again, twiddling her fingers. A red beam of light shot out from her fingers and hit the lamp by the bedside, twisting it out of shape. Rogue squeaked and stumbled back against the wall, staring at the lamp in shock before once again bringing her gaze to her gloved hand. _What's happenin' ta meh?_

_Those were my powers. _Wanda's voice held confusion. _…But I didn't use them or allow them to be used through you._

_Me either…_Carol echoed.

_Ah-Ah didn't mean to! _Rogue was getting frantic. _What's going on?_

_Hold up a second, chere. Calm down, eh? _Rogue tried to steady her breathing while Remy pondered for a moment. _It wasn't so long ago dat y' absorbed both Wanda an' Carol. Y' probably jus' still have dere mutations. _

_That…makes sense…_Rogue breathed in deeply, trying to gather her wits. _Carol, Wanda, how do ya control your mutations?_

_It took me months before I could touch anything and not destroy it. _Carol said.

_That goes for me as well. _Wanda added.

The panic was returning to Rogue, but she fought hard to push it down. _Ah've never had a mutation jus' happen without meh willing it. _Rogue swallowed thickly. _Do ya have anythin' that might help? Ah don't want ta miss Pietro…_

_You're right. _Wanda agreed. _We can't wait it out. _

For the next hour, Rogue listened to Wanda and Carol explain how their mutations worked and all that they could do. They told her how they eventually gained control and gave her tips and hints for her to try to master their powers as well. It took an hour of practice by touching things and numerous hand motions, but Rogue was finally able to touch something without it shattering, and, for the most part, the random bursts of energy has lessoned, if not stopped.

Rogue made her way to the door, but stopped again. "Ah should leave a note." She said, not talking to anyone in particular but voicing the words.

Rogue again went to the desk and pried open the top drawer by the edges of the wood. It creaked slightly, but didn't visibly splinter or break. There were some loose papers inside. Rogue grabbed one and looked around the room for a pen or something to write with. There was another desk in the room so she went over to that and began searching the drawers. There was no pen or any other writing utensil. Rogue huffed in aggravation.

_Don't worry about it. I got it. _Wanda instructed.

Rogue lifted an eyebrow skeptically. _And how are ya gunna do that?_

Wanda chuckled softly. _You looked like me for a moment there, scowling like that. _Her words both scarred and glowed in Rogue. It was a constant reminder of what she had done to Wanda, but also…Rogue simply felt comforted, thinking that she still had something of Wanda with her, if only it was leftover expressions and mannerisms from absorbing Wanda. It helped the pain slightly, to think she would at least always carry Wanda with her.

_Ya always had a way with expressions…_Rogue trailed off.

Wanda gave her a moment of reflecting before smiling softly. _I'm glad for it too. _Rogue knew that Wanda knew exactly what she felt and she understood Wanda's meaning as well. _Anyway,_ Wanda continued, shaking of the sentimentalism, never one for touchy-feely moments. _Hold your hand above the paper and close your eyes, I'll take care of the note._

Rogue did as she was told. After several seconds, she felt a warm feeling flow through her body, starting at her stomach and extending through her chest to the very tips of her fingers. The warmth started emptying through her fingers and after another few seconds, the whole feeling evaporated. Rogue opened her eyes.

The sheet of paper she had found had raised letters over it where the paper had lifted in spots, writing out a message with the letters. Rogue ran her gloved fingers over the letter, marveling at the raised letters as she read the message. It read exactly as she would have written, telling Mystique what and where she was going and not to worry, that she'd be back soon.

_How'd ya do that? _Rogue asked in awe.

Wanda shrugged. _It's manipulation of any surface. My mutation's not clearly defined in any way—I don't even know everything about it. Manipulation of probabilities is how it was described to me. I just manipulated the probability that the letters on the paper would rise. Its how I broke those boards you were hanging onto, the second time we met._

_That's pretty wild. _Rogue stared at the paper. _Manipulating probability…ya could do anythin' with that. Do ya have any limitations?_

Wanda scoffed. _Of course I do, I can't do _everything_. _

_Tell meh all that ya cahn do._

_Well, as you know, I can manipulate probability of things happening. This gives me a sort of control of my surroundings. Also, what you just did awhile ago, was create a hex sphere—it disables functions and stuns individuals who are caught in it, it can break stuff and whatnot too. _Rogue was wide eyed, listening to Wanda list off her abilities. _I control everything of my powers through my hexes. It requires concentration and a gesture. When I first got my powers, I couldn't make any hand motions for fear of setting off a hex, which happened often. That's what happened with you too. As a part of my hexes, I manipulate this 'chaos magic' which basically is where I draw my abilities from, otherwise I'd be powerless._

_Holy shit. _Rogue gaped. _Talk about complicated!_

_Tell me about it. _Wanda shook her head. _I had no idea what was going on when my powers first manifested. I once temporarily took away a mutant's power too._

Rogue's attention grew riveted at this last detail. _Ya—Ya cahn take away a mutant's power?_

Too late, Wanda realized her mistake and cringed inwardly. She held a hard, stoic expression. _It severely injured the mutant and was a very painful process for him._

_But—_

Wanda shook her head. _No, Rogue. I have no idea even if you could do it to yourself, but if you could, it'd have the same results on you as him. I won't show you how to do it._

Rogue swallowed back her hope and lowered her head, placing the paper down on the desk. Wanda's features creased in guilt. _I'm sorry, Rogue. _

…_It's okay. Ah better get goin' inta your room now. Don't want to miss Pietro…_

_Rogue…_

Rogue's jaw tightened uncomfortably. _It's okay Wanda. Ah really do understand. Ah just…Ah hate what Ah do._

_You'll get the better of it someday Rogue. _Wanda sounded confident and assured. _Remember Gracie's prophesy? It's a 'likely situation' for you to gain control._

Rogue scowled. _It was also a 'likely situation' fohr ya to kill meh while Ah became all powerful an' dominant…and look how that one turned out._

Wanda winced. _I'm still grateful for it, no matter how you look at it._

_Ah know, Ah know. _Rogue brushed off, making her way to the door. _Your ridiculous an' insane, that's how Ah see it._

_So be it. _Wanda gave her a soft smile.

Rogue mock-gasped, only halfway faking it. _Have Ah EVER seen ya smile before?_

_Oh shut up. _Wanda's small, half smile betrayed that she wasn't truly upset with Rogue.

Rogue grinned widely for the first time since the accidents.

--

**Wanda's room was plain, to say in the least.** In fact, it almost looked like an exact replica of Rogue's room except for the fact that Wanda's held an adjoining bathroom. Rogue shut the door behind her gently, making sure to exert as little force as possible. The door still slammed against its frame, but nothing broke. Rogue turned slowly and her eyes roamed over the blank walls with the neatly-made bed and closed closet. Nothing was out of place. Nothing was out, period. Rogue might have been renting at a hotel, had she not known better.

_Not much of an interior decorator, are ya? _Rogue asked wryly, slowly walking into the midst of the room.

Wanda rolled her eyes. It wasn't that Rogue physically saw the psyches doing the actions, but rather she _felt _them and had a small, visual image attached in the back of her mind every time they did so. _What the hell are you tiptoeing for? Enter the goddamn room already._

Rogue jumped slightly. _Sorrrry. Jeez._ She made her way over to the bed and sat down, feeling awkward. The thought of sitting on Wanda's bed only intensified that feeling so she quickly stood again and began lightly pacing.

_Anxious much?_

_It jus'…it's weird. _Rogue bit her bottom lip. _It feels lihke ya should be here._

_I am here. _Wanda stated plainly, as if that should be obvious. _You really need to get over the fact that you're not going to see my body again._

_Ah…_

_Here we go again with the guilt trip. _Wanda shook her head. _Someone should put you in a movie with all these heroics. Like The Dark Knight or something with you being the female star—cause you're sure doing all the self sacrificing crap that they do. They can never understand that it's Not their fault._

_But it is mah fault! _Rogue protested.

Wanda gave her the skeptical eye glance that Rogue had always admired. _And you say I'm the ridiculous one. Stop frikin pacing, girl! _

Rogue halted. _What am Ah supposed ta do? Ah feel so…_Rogue frowned. _Are you makin' an awkward turtle sign at meh?_

_An awkward turtle? Do I look four to you? No, that is your friend Bobby. _Rogue concentrated and heard what sounded like a muffled yelp. _And that is Remy beating up Bobby. Anyway—relax Rogue! I promise you, there are no monsters under the bed._

Rogue gave her a demeaning glare. _Your sarcasm is a poor replacement of your people skills._

_You think so? _Wanda asked. _They've served me well all these years._

Rogue shook her head as she made her way back over to the bed and sat down stiffly. Wanda's comforter nearly swallowed her. _So…what do ya guys do up there all this time?_

_You mean what us psyches do while we're not talking to you? _Rogue nodded, but it was unnecessary, Wanda knew what she meant. _I don't know, I haven't been here that long. I'm assuming we live just as we would outside your mind. Watching you seems to be a hobby of your psyches as well. Hmm, let me see…_Wanda was silent for a moment before she scowled again. _Logan and Mystique are having sex._

_What?_ Rogue gasped._ Oh mah—don't intrude on them! _

_Yes, because that was my first intention. _Wanda threw off sarcastically. _Bobby and Remy are fighting. Gracie's with Carol._ At Rogue's speeded heart rate, Wanda added. _They're flying and David's shooting arrows at them. _Wanda quirked her eyebrow again in _that _expression. _And Secon, Erik, and Pyro are all locked up._

_Locked up? _Rogue asked, alarmed.

_Yeah, they're in cages._ Wanda sounded amused. _You put Erik in a plastic prison, Pyro in unmeltable ice, and Secon behind bars. Creative…_

_Ah—Ah have ta let them go! _Rogue exclaimed, horrified.

Wanda gave her another withering, skeptical glare. _Other than Erik, I advise against letting Pyro and Secon out._

_But Ah can't keep them locked up. _Rogue argued.

_Says the girl who was just possessed and nearly killed by them?_ Wanda's eyebrow arched high._ Yes you can._

_ But…it's wrong ta keep them locked away lihke that._

Wanda smacked her forehead. _Oh, for heaven's sakes, you really are a martyr. Trust me on this alright? Just let Erik out—as a matter of fact, leave him there for now, until after I talk to him. Besides, I don't think Logan would even let you free the others. So chill._

Rogue laid back on the bed, trying to calm herself. _Ah wish ya were here. _Rogue said sadly. _Ah miss you._

Rogue felt Wanda bite the insides of her cheeks. _I'm always with you now, Rogue. You don't have to miss me, or be sad for me, I'm here._

Rogue sniffed, trying to hold back the tears. _Thanks, Wanda. Thanks fohr…fohr everything._ It was so much more than that. Wanda was the first girl to sit down and honestly talk to her like this. She didn't lie and she didn't hide things, not like Kitty, her supposed 'best friend', but she was bluntly honest and truthful. And she had become Rogue's closest friend that she'd ever known, a companion that Rogue wouldn't have traded for anyone. She had become like a sister. Rogue knew Wanda would understand what she felt. The two were bound.

_Shhh, Rogue. _Wanda silenced. Rogue felt something heavy thump in her chest and several tears roll down her cheeks. She wiped at her eyes with the back of her hand, but they came away clear. It took a few seconds for Rogue to figure out that those feelings were Wanda's, that she was crying softly. _Get some sleep._

Rogue closed her eyes and almost instantly fell into a deep slumber.


	22. Crazy

_**Rogue! Wake up! He's here! **_Rogue stirred in her slumber and moved onto her side, still very much asleep. _ROGUE! _Wanda yelled, still earning no response. She huffed in aggravation, still trying to wake the sleeping girl. Wanda tried shoving against the edges of Rogue's mind, but still the girl slept. _Jesus Christ. _Wanda cursed, aware of Pietro's presence but unable to see or do anything about it.

Or was she? Erik had taken control of Rogue's body when she had been unconscious, hadn't he? And so had Secon. Wanda pondered this for a moment, but the idea that Pietro might leave before Rogue woke up was a pressing issue. She had to do something, otherwise he'd be gone and she wouldn't know where to find him again. _Rogue, come on. _Wanda tried waking her one last time, but still she yielded no results. With a sigh, Wanda wondered for a moment how to gain control of Rogue's unconscious body. She thought back to when Rogue had 'thought' Erik away while visualizing his dismissal. Maybe she should…

Exasperated, Wanda shut her eyes and tried to visualize herself becoming the dominant psyche of Rogue's mind, to feel what Rogue did firsthand, to control her body. A tingling sensation ran through Wanda, starting in her stomach and extending through her fingers and all the way to her toes. It was not unlike the sensation she had when she used her magic, but she didn't feel any warmth. Feeling strange, Wanda opened her eyes.

She was in her bedroom on top of her comforter, lying flat on her back the way Rogue had laid down. She lifted her arm experimentally and a gloved hand rose into eyesight. Wanda blinked in amazement—it had worked! She was controlling Rogue's body!

Her eyes flashed over to her closet where Pietro stood rifling through her things, throwing everything into a large box. The closet was nearly empty already, her stuff flying into the box at an accelerated rate that her eyes couldn't entirely follow.

"Pietro." Wanda croaked, her throat dry and husky.

Pietro whirled around and saw her on the bed, face twisted into a snarl. "What're you doing here? Get out." He ordered, mistaking her for Rogue. Which was rightfully so, as she was in Rogue's body and Pietro didn't know much, if anything, about Rogue's mutation. He was at the door in a second; glaring at her and holding it open, gesturing for her to leave.

"I need to speak with you, Petey."

Pietro's expression froze and his body stiffened.

"Don't call me that." Pietro commanded, his voice strained.

"I always used to call you Petey. When we were little kids…Before anything happened with our family, before we split up…" Wanda gave him a sharp look that was characteristic of her alone. "It's me, Pietro."

Pietro stood staring at her with wide eyes; his arm had dropped limply to his sides. His jaw was slack as he stood, stiff and unmoving, the little color in his face had drained. "…Wh-wha?"

"As a part of Rogue's mutation, she absorbs the memories and personality of a person—like how Secon took control of her. Before I died, I asked that Rogue fully absorb me. And she did."

Pietro just gaped at her, in shock or disbelief, Wanda couldn't tell. She pulled herself up off the bed and walked over to Pietro, taking his hand in her gloved one. "Before I died, you told me you loved me and you were sorry. I didn't say it then, but I appreciate that Pietro."

Tears were clouding Pietro's eyes. "W-Wanda?" He asked silently, as if afraid that speaking too loudly would break the spell and bring him out of this dream-like reality.

"Wait, Pietro. You said your part to me before, now it's my turn. I want…I want to thank you, Pietro, for staying with me and for protecting me all this time. You've followed me and guarded me all your life and only asked that I give Erik a second shot, which I repeatedly declined to. I know I've always regarded you with contempt and suspicion and I've never trusted you…and I'm sorry for that. The truth, though, is that you were always there for me after…the accident." Wet droplets splashed down Pietro's cheeks and buried themselves in the rug. "You were my best friend Pietro, my only friend these past years and…well, I just want you to know how much it meant to me that you stayed with me."

"Wanda—"

"Wait," Wanda chewed her bottom lip, a move characteristic of Rogue when she was nervous. Wanda hadn't really been nervous about anything, just always angry. It was an unsettling emotion. "I…I want you to take me to Erik."

Time seemed to stop. Every cell in his body was screaming at him that Wanda would _never _request such a thing, but her words were undeniable proof that it was in fact Wanda who stood before him. Pietro stood stock still, gaping at her as if she had jumped out of Rogue's body and manifested right before his eyes. Nothing was making sense. Wanda was dead, but…Pietro had no idea how Rogue's mutation worked. It made sense, especially considering how Secon had taken control of her, but it was so unreal. To think, his sister might still be alive out there, even if not in her own body, the fact that she was still alive…

Pietro threw his arms around Rogue's shoulders and sobbed into her shoulder. He wanted to stay here with her forever, to make sure she'd never be in danger again, to protect her against his earlier failure to do so. "Wanda." He gasped, choking. "I thought I lost you." To his utter shock, Wanda hesitantly hugged him back. The fact that she was willingly hugged him warmed his very soul. "I'm sorry I failed to protect you."

Wanda vehemently shook her head. "You didn't, Pietro. Don't ever think that."

Pietro breathed raggedly. "I can't believe it's you."

Wanda drew back a little and looked Pietro in the eye. "Pietro, I…" she was at a loss for words. She had so much to tell him, but it all escaped her. She couldn't think. Instead, she asked. "How is Erik?"

Pietro winced slightly at the name, taking her hesitance and confusion as fear of their dad. The fact that she wouldn't call him dad still stung, but he was stunned that she was asking at all, that she wanted to see him. Pietro's jaw tightened uncomfortably as he recalled Erik's condition.

"He-He took it pretty hard."

"How bad is it?"

Pietro hesitated, but Wanda deserved to know. He wouldn't hide anything from her. "He tried to kill himself."

Wanda's eyes widened and a small gasp escaped her slightly parted lips. "He's…is he okay now? He's not going to-"

"No, no." Pietro shushed her. "He's not going to try it again."

"How do you know that?" Wanda asked hastily, fear evident in her voice.

"He won't." Pietro declared sternly. "He's…different now Wanda. Not the way I've always been trying to tell you, no, but news of your death changed him. He doesn't want power or might or even revenge anymore. He just wants peace within himself."

"What do you think will happen if he sees me?"

Pietro looked indecisive and slightly strained. "I really have no idea." He admitted, "Knowing that you're still alive—somewhat—out there, I'm blown away with shock myself."

"You don't think it'd be bad for him, do you?" Wanda hurried on. "I mean, I did _technically _die and his first response was to try to kill himself. You don't think talking to me would be…you know, detrimental?"

Pietro rigorously shook his head. "No, Wanda, I don't. Dad was ripped apart inside because he didn't get to speak to you before you died, because he couldn't tell you how sorry he was. It'll be a shock to him that you're not dead—entirely—but I know that it wouldn't hurt him. Seeing you would mean the world to him, Wanda."

Wanda chewed on her lower lip. "You think so?"

Pietro nodded. "Absolutely. I have no doubt."

"I…I can't stay with him, you know. This isn't my body to do as I please."

"It doesn't matter." Pietro objected. "Just talking to him would be enough." Pietro took a step closer to Wanda and clasped her gloved hands in his own. "Wanda, I know you're scared to see him—and you don't have to object to it," Pietro cautioned as Wanda opened her mouth. "I know you won't admit it, but I also know it's true. And Wanda, I'm telling you, if you go see him—that man would die for a chance to talk to you, he's worked so hard to get you to come to him—I know how hard it would be for you, but Wanda, you have no idea, none at all, what this would mean to him."

Wanda inhaled deeply. "Alright. Pietro, take me to him."

"Do you need anything from here?"

Wanda shook her head. "No, I'm good."

Pietro nodded. "I'll come back for your stuff later." He hesitated. "Wanda…"

"What?"

"Can I hug you again?" Pietro asked sheepishly. Wanda rolled her eyes, but was touched by the gesture nonetheless and opened her arms to hug Pietro, who gladly ran in and squeezed her so hard that her feet left the ground. When he put her down again, Wanda momentarily marveled at how much shorter Rogue was than her and how that must feel. The fact that Pietro was taller than her in this form was somewhat unsettling. She liked her former height.

Pietro came closer to her and wrapped an arm around her back. In another movement, he effortlessly picked up her legs off the ground and cradled her to his chest, as if she were a child. Wanda lifted her chin to find Pietro's face and stared. Pietro had done everything for her, everything in his power to protect her and watch her while trying to call her back to Erik, to let the master of magnetism have a second chance. For years, Wanda had rebuked everything Pietro had sacrificed for her; she had despised the fact that he followed her, as if she needed protection, and was constantly annoyed by his attempts to make her see Erik. And yet, a part of her was always attached to Pietro, however angry he made her, she had always wanted him to be there. And he'd never left her.

Pietro leveled his gaze down at her and Wanda could see the emotion shining out of his eyes. Such joy at her survival, at her life, and a deep sadness that Wanda couldn't touch. She couldn't imagine what it'd be like, had their places been reversed, and Pietro had died to come back in another's body just a short while afterwards. His eyes betrayed his fears, the fear that this might be an illusion, a dream, or that he had really lost it with her death. Wanda reached up a hand and traced the edge of his jawline with her gloved fingers. "I'm here, Pietro." She assured him, "I'm here."

Pietro's eyes were glossy with wet, unshed tears. His lip trembled as he grabbed her hand and squeezed it in his own. "Close your eyes, Wanda."

Wanda obeyed.

The soft breeze of the wind through her hair was a welcome touch. Wanda felt alive.

---

**Remy's long trench-coat swished behind him as he entered the bedroom. **His red eyes scanned the room behind a pair of dark sunglasses and widened at the sight of the room. It was a bloody mess. Everything in the room had been broken or dented and discarded. The dresser was splintered in several places, the handle entirely ripped off. A pillow was half ripped apart in what looked like a frenzy, feathers stuck out at all angles and littered the floor. The walls had dents and holes in them, fist sized, and Remy took a moment to trace the imprint of knuckles in one wall before turning to the bedside.

A lamp was twisted in impossible angles, still lighted and giving off a short, puckering light. Gracie lay still and unmoving on the bed, her chest gently rose and fell in tune to her breathing. Beside her, on the bedside nightstand that had several missing handles and dented drawers, lay a white sheet of paper in which Remy could see slightly raised letters on the surface. Remy raced over to the bedside and snatched up the paper.

It read:

_Mystique,_

_I've gone to Erik's, but don't worry and don't follow me. I owe this visit to a friend and I promise I'll be safe. I'll return afterwards and we have to talk then. We have a lot to talk about, and I have much to tell you. Thank you for sending the psychic Elizabeth to me while I was out, she helped immensely when I was trapped in my mind. I have much to tell you about that and otherwise, but please wait until I return. I won't be long._

_Remy, I would like to speak to you too when I get back. Thank you for helping me through this. You've been a lifesaver, literally, and I have so much I want to tell you. Please keep Gracie safe until I get back. Thank you for everything._

_Rogue _

"She went t' Mags?!" Remy's jaw dropped slightly. "What de hell is de _fille_ dinkin'?! He's gunna kill her!" Remy rushed out of the room and started sprinting down the hallway. He had just reached the top of the stairs and was about to run down them when Mystique and a short, well-muscled man appeared on the landing and Remy collided into him. All the wind rushed out of Remy's lungs upon impact and he bounced back on his butt several feet. The shorter man didn't seem at all phased by the collision.

Mystique glared down at him. "Remy, if you-"

"Rogue's gone!" Remy shouted impatiently. Mystique's eyes narrowed and the short man's jaw set. "Look!" Remy thrust the paper at them and watched their expressions as they quickly read it. Mystique still seemed cynical and her eyes alighted in anger, but the other man's face fell into an expression that Remy was sure he wore upon his own. Fear was an easily read emotion.

"We have to get 'er." The man spoke for the first time. He had a low, guttural tone.

"I don't know where Magneto is camping out. Can you trace her?" Mystique asked the short man.

"I don't need to. I know where he is."

Mystique nodded at this, not asking how. "Remy?"

Remy was already rushing down the steps to the car.

**The dream world surrounding Gracie slowly faded away as a familiar blackness took over her surroundings.** The insides of her eyelids, that was what it was. They were rarely just black anymore. She closed her eyes when she got visions and those were never black. Her dreams had gone wild since her mutation manifested and she could never quite tell if she was seeing a vision or wild interpretations of her sub-conscious. Sleeping always meant she'd see something, she just didn't know if they were true.

Some of them had to be. For she had seen visions in her dreams that later came to pass with inerrable accuracy, but not all the time. Gracie's mutation had somehow enhanced her dreams, so that now she never slept without dreaming and her dreams always centered around key aspects of people's lives, real or imagined, they were always mutants.

This last one was a dream she knew well. It was the vision that had brought her here in the first place. Marie was the centerpiece, of course, but she never saw Marie's location. It only rounded around herself. In it, Marie was growling savagely. Her appearance was somewhat changed. Her body was honed and tighter, a weapon, and her eyes had taken in a feral look. Her teeth were sharper and her whole expression was harder. She was facing off with someone, but Gracie never saw the first person. She was always too centered upon the second woman who was running up behind Marie.

The vision blinked forward and the woman was strangling Marie, holding her head under water, protected from her skin by long red opera gloves. Gracie recognized the woman, for her slender grace and bearing features were unmistakable. It was Wanda, the woman who Marie claimed to be friends with, who was killing her. Marie's body went still in her grasp as the struggling stopped and the vision blinked out.

The repeated vision made no sense. Gracie always got a vision more than once when it was of exceptional importance, but this one confused her. Wanda was dead, killed by Marie herself. Gracie had seen it all play out in a vision when Remy had locked her away in a room. There was no possible way for Gracie's vision to come true now. The fate had been altered. Wanda had been killed. She couldn't get to Marie now; she was just a figment in Marie's mind.

Gracie shook her head futilely and opened her eyes. The bedroom was dark around her, the lights turned off and nearly night outside. Her eyes scanned the room quickly before they fell upon the empty spot beside her in the bed. Marie was gone. Gracie swallowed a gulp in her throat at the sad picture before pushing herself off the bed. The covers puddled at the floor around her feet as her eyes adjusted to the dim light. Something was…different about the room she was in.

"Was this room so busted up when Ah came in?" Gracie wondered aloud. No one answered her and she herself didn't know. She'd been too concerned about Marie when she had come in to notice the actual room around her. Gracie shrugged and let out a huge yawn before stretching her arms in the air. "Ah don' supposed it'd be unreasonable ta think there migh' be somethin' ta eat in this joint."

With that thought, Gracie made her way out the door and meandered around in the hallways for a time, checking occasional rooms for a kitchen. It was a good twenty minutes later before she stumbled across one. When she did, she quickly found the refrigerator and peered inside anxiously. "Ohh! Ohh!" Gracie pulled back excitedly with two containers in her hand, bouncing on the balls of her feet. "Ah love cold turkey an' barbeque sauce!" She danced away from the fridge jubilantly and put her finds on the table.

"Now, somethin' ta drink…" Gracie returned to the fridge and began rummaging. "Eww, pomegranate juice? Ah didn' think anyone really evah drank that." Her eyes alighted. "Aha!" She pulled out a can of mandarin oranges. "The juice in this'll do jus' fahne." She smiled happily and fished a fork out of a drawer before kicking the refrigerator closed and sitting back down. She inhaled the scent of the cold turkey. "Mmmh!" She slathered on barbeque sauce and drenched the meat in it. Gracie pried open the can of mandarin oranges with her fork and then drank from the can. A sudden idea struck her.

"What if we trah…" Experimentally, Gracie slopped down a few mandarin oranges on her turkey delight and took a bite. "Mmmh! This is lihke a party in mah mouth!" After the words came out, Gracie blushed sheepishly and glanced around, making sure she was the only one in the room. "Okay, that came out wrong." She proceeded to dump the rest of the mandarins on her turkey-barbeque treat and began waffling it down by the mouthful.

She had just finished taking another long drink of mandarin orange juice when she heard a pattering at the door. Curious, she put down the can and glanced over. The pattering came again, louder this time, as if someone were rapping a stick against the wall. Gracie was just about to stand up and investigate when the pattering rapped loudly against the kitchen door and she half jumped up in fright. A moment later, the door opened.

In walked a tall, slender woman with very pale skin and brown hair. She was pretty, in an odd sort of way, but clearly old. Her eyes were obscured behind dark glasses and she held a cane in one hand, rythmatically tapping it against the floor. She was blind, Gracie realized. She paused upon opening the door and lifted her chin slightly. "Hello?" She called out.

Gracie didn't know how she knew she was there, but she had heard that people with one sense deteriorated gained much more insight in their others. "Um, hi." She waved half heartedly before realizing what she was doing and stopped. "Are ya…" Gracie paused, uncertain.

The woman smiled knowingly. "My name is Irene Alder, child. I'm a friend of Mystique's."

"Oh, hi…" Gracie answered, a little put-off. The Mystique woman—she was someone to be suspicious about. Gracie still remembered overhearing Rogue's conversation with the blue lady. "Well, Ah'm G—"

Irene interrupted. "I know who you are, child."

Gracie raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

Irene nodded. "Of course. Your southern twang is a giveaway right off. I've been told much about you already."

Gracie blushed. "Well, uhh, good things, Ah hope." Irene smiled pleasantly. There was a slight pause. "C-Cahn Ah get ya somethin' ta drink?" Gracie asked politely.

"I would appreciate that." Irene gave her a tender grin. "I'm still trying to get used to the new mansion, get a feel for it and find my way around." Gracie felt slightly guilty that she hadn't thought to ask the woman sooner. She couldn't image what it would be like to be blind. The simple thought horrified her.

"What do ya want?" Gracie questioned, scanning the fridge's contents. "They've got juice, milk, chocolate milk, lemonade—"

Irene smiled. "Water would be fine."

Gracie found a cup in the cupboard and filled it with tap water before handing it over. When Irene reached out for her hand, she immediately found Gracie's arm without problem. Gracie shivered. Shouldn't she be feeling around in the air a bit before touching her? The way blind people would? Maybe she was just being paranoid, but—

"Child," Gracie's heart skipped a beat as Irene reached out with her other arm and gripped her by the shoulder. A chill went down her spine at the blind woman's accuracy. Irene mistook her shaking. "Oh, I'm sorry. I know you don't like to be touched."

_She thinks Ah'm Marie._ The thought hit Gracie full force and made total sense. How else would the woman have known her? Even though Marie's accent was thinner than her own after having spent years out of home, Gracie imagined it'd be difficult to tell the difference between them. And the blind woman obviously couldn't see to clarify the mistake, however uncomfortable her accuracy was.

"Your mother's told me a lot about you." Irene was still talking. Gracie cleared her thoughts and began to listen. "How you've been adjusting here and such. How do you like it?"

Gracie decided to play along. Really, what could it hurt? She was curious about what the woman was talking about anyway. Gracie remembered, before any of the crazy activity that lost Marie control of her body, she had been talking about 'mother'. Gracie hadn't seen her to talk about her circumstance. Between Marie's great tragedy and accidental deaths, there really hadn't been a moment to ask. "Does she?" Gracie asked. "What does she say?"

The edges of Irene's mouth quirked back in amusement, as if she found the very question funny. "Don't worry, Rogue. She didn't put me up to talking with you or becoming your friend."

Gracie didn't know what she meant. "That's…good, Ah suppose."

Irene's expression was slightly saddened. "You don't believe me." Before Gracie could say anything against that, she continued speaking. "It's tough, I imagine. Learning about your real birth parents and then thrown into completely different situation the way you've been. And with recent…disasters." Irene looked apologetic. "I'm sorry about Wanda, child, truly."

Gracie's throat was dry. Learning about Marie's real parents? What did the woman mean? Marie wasn't adopted. The resemblance between Gracie and Marie was true to that enough in and of itself. The girls looked identical, besides a few inches of height, eyecolor, and the new white streaks in Marie's hair. It was impossible that Marie came from different parents.

Irene took her silence with caution. "Have you thought about returning to the X-Men?"

_Ex-Men?_ Gracie thought, bewildered. _Is that some kind of mutant gang? _"Ah…thought about it a little." Gracie lied, wondering if this was the right thing to say.

Irene nodded in understanding before taking a sip of her water. "I suppose you miss them. It's not such a bad thing, really. I'm glad you decided to stay here though. It makes your mother very happy to know that you chose to stay with her."

"What about…did Ah…" Gracie stopped, completely clueless as to how to phrase the question. "Ah mean, how do ya think...Ah've been adaptin'…ta things?"

Irene smiled kindly. "Well I haven't been around to watch, you know. I promise I haven't been spying on you." Irene suddenly frowned. "Mystique was talking to me—" Irene started.

"Mystique…?" Gracie asked questioningly before slapping a hand over her mouth. Marie wouldn't ask who Mystique was, of course, she'd know.

"Don't worry, your mother hasn't been influencing me, I promise." _So this Mystique woman is posin' as Marie's mama. _Gracie deduced. _How tha hehll did she convince her of that? _"But she did mention some problems you've been having with your psyches." Irene continued. "How is that? Did Elizabeth help you with it?"

_Psyches? Do they think Marie's schizophrenic or what? _"Umm…it's better."

Irene nodded in understanding. "More sessions with Elizabeth should help immensely, I presume."

A horrible thought struck Gracie. _What if Marie's gone crazy? _Based off what she knew, it wasn't a far-fetched summation. _Marie's obviously been deluded inta thinkin' this Mystique is her mama—and that recent thing, with what happened to her. Ah mean, they tell meh its not her fault—that someone else did it usin' Marie's body. Oh gawd,_ Gracie's heart raced. _Marie's schitzo! It has ta be true—it was a totally different person who took meh hostage. An'—An' this confusion an' stuff about mama—These people are trickin' her with mahnd games! Who was it? Elsa…Elizabeth! The therapist. She's probably been hypnotozin' Marie! Who knows what they've done ta her sanity?_

Horribly disturbed and worked up by her own train of thought, Gracie stood up abruptly and knocked her chair to the floor. Irene jumped at the noise. "Rogue?" _And why do these people keep callin' her 'Rogue'? Her name is Marie! It…It must be her other half, her schitzo half! Oh, God, oh God. They're all crazy. Ah'm surrounded by crazy people! _

"Ah—Ah gottah go." Without waiting for a reply, Gracie raced out the door and started running down the long hallway. She had to find Marie, and fast, before they totally turned around her mind and tricked her into oblivion.

---

**Irene smiled to herself as Rogue raced out of the room. **Well, this was a lot easier than she had thought. Nobody was in the mansion. Irene had thought it'd be months before Mystique trusted her enough to leave her alone with Rogue in the mansion. Apparently she was still practicing the same mistakes as always. Foolish woman, she really had serious trust problems. No matter though, soon, Mystique would all but forget everything else except her love for her. Irene would make sure of it.

Irene put down the cup of water on the tabletop and fished her hand inside her pocket before drawing out a small cell phone. She flipped it open and, by touching the keypad, determined which speed dial to press, number 2. The phone wasn't even completely through the first ring before someone picked up on the other end.

"Irene?" The harsh voice asked questioningly. "What is it?"

"Mystique is not at the mansion. Neither is Remy. Wanda's dead. I don't know about Sabertooth, but if you want to snatch her up, now's your chance."

There were a few choice cuss words from the other line. "Wanda is dead?"

"Rogue absorbed her completely in an incident that couldn't be avoided."

More cussing followed. "Entirely? Irene, do you know what this means?"

"It doesn't change anything."

"It changes everything. What about Wanda's power? What happened with that?"

"Nothing happened while I was talking to her, but she hasn't been able to turn it off. Wanda's or Carol."

"Carol?" There was a pause. "Carol Danvers is dead?"

"Yes."

Another pause. "This complicates things, Irene. Carol is of no concern to me, but Wanda was her friend and will doubtlessly be interfering when we try to control her. Besides, we were going to use Wanda to lure Rogue into working with us. Who's going to be the bait now?"

Irene considered this. "Well…actually, you may be able to use this. You have healer mutants with you, of course?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, why not cure Wanda's body and transfer her essence back into it?"

There was a long pause. "We do have other mutants who could bring back her breath and heartbeat…" there was consideration in the voice, "Yes, that's right. We can totally control her with the promise of bringing Wanda back. If she disobeys, we'll kill Wanda with her spirit back in her body. The threat alone will make her follow unquestioning…" The voice stopped suddenly, as if aware it was speaking with Irene still. "I suppose that would work. Do you know where the body is?"

"I see the future and situations, not morgues."

Annoyance flecked the voice's tone. "Fine, but Irene, I want a full report on this 'incident' that resulted in Wanda and Carol's deaths. Nothing else is disturbed, I assume?"

"Nothing else that should concern you, no."

"We'll be there in a few minutes. Get in your room and stay there." Irene hung up and stood slowly. She poked around the ground with her cane and made her way to the door. Things were about to get messy.

---

**Gracie raced down the hallway in a panic, her heart thudding painfully in her chest as she opened door after door, peeking in to see if Marie was present.** So far, she'd had no luck. It was as if there was nobody else in the mansion. She hadn't come across anybody as of yet.

Gracie opened another door and poked her head in. The room was scraped bare, the closet left hanging open, and the bed slightly ruffled. The blank gray walls seemed to mock her. "Argh! Marie, where are you?!"

Gracie slammed the door and continued on to the next room. "Why the hell are there so many doors here?! What's this supposed to be, a hotel? Nobody needs this much room! Especially when you're not around to use it!" Gracie gritted her teeth and was about to open another door when a splitting pain broke across her forehead.

"Ahhhrgh!" Gracie clutched at her forehead as a familiar agony raced through her head. "Not now, damnit!"

Her mutation had a mind of its own and ignored her plea to go away. Gracie staggered to her knees and took her head in her hands, crying out as the pain spread through her brain till it reached every part of her mind. Unshed tears welled up in the corners of her eyes as a blinding image crossed her closed eyes.

_He was a huge, monstrous beast of a man. He was covered in fur, unnatural long, like that of an animal's, and he had long fingernail talons. The man easily towered over her, at least a good six feet and some tall. He growled at her lowly through the open doorway of a bedroom. He sniffed the air a few times before his eyes narrowed at her._

"_Yeah, girlie?" When he opened his mouth, Gracie could see the rows of sharp teeth that lined his mouth. She swallowed thickly and began backing away. This only encouraged him and a feral grin spread across his cruel features. "I can smell the fear on you." He stepped forward menacingly and cornered her against the wall. He leaned in close to her head, making her squeak in fear and cower down. He smiled cruelly at her and sniffed the air next to her hair, almost burying his nose in her brunette locks. "You smell afraid." He hissed lowly._

_Gracie squeaked again and tried to duck under his arm and make a run for it, but he was way ahead of her. Before she had even entirely ducked his arm, he reached down and grabbed her shoulder. He threw her heavily back against the wall and pain shot through her back as he pinned her against the wall with one hand. He leaned in close again, and brought his talons up to her neck. The fine hairs on the back of her neck raised as horror filled her features. "I can kill you right here." He growled lowly, obviously enjoying her terror. His body pressed up against hers, pinning her to the wall and Gracie could feel his heartbeat against her chest. More than that, she felt his long, hard fingernail underneath her chin, nicking at the skin and cutting it easily. If he tore his hand to the side, it would rip the skin away from her throat and--_

"Nooo!" Gracie shouted, horrified, willing away the vision with all her might. The image faded from behind her eyelids and Gracie's eyes snapped open as she gasped for breath. She scrambled back to her feet, still holding her skull tenderly with one hand as she backed away from the door she'd been about to open, staring at it in horror. Her back bumped against another rough door behind her and she jumped, letting out a scream before snapping her mouth shut.

"It was jus' a vision." Gracie spoke, trying to reassure herself with the sound of her own voice. "It's a picture of the future that won't come, now that Ah've seen it an' cahn change it. Jus' gottah stop openin' doors."

As Gracie's heart began to slow again, she realized the problem in that. "But…Marie." Gracie shivered and hugged herself. "Where are ya?"


	23. Reunions

**Gracie was at a crux of indecision. **She knew she had to find Marie, she needed to find her and get her sister back on track. These people had obviously messed with Marie's mind, but Gracie had no intention of running into the huge beast man and having her throat torn out.

After pacing back to the first row of doors she had encountered, Gracie decided upon a course of action. She would go around calling Marie's name, she decided. In her vision, the beast man didn't come to her until after she had opened his door and invaded his room space. If anything, maybe he would simply ignore her if she left the rooms alone. It wasn't the best solution, but Gracie didn't see what else she could hope to accomplish. Irene certainly wouldn't know where Marie was, and besides, the woman was blind. If Gracie fell across the beast man anyway, she was probably safer without the blind woman. At least she wouldn't have to worry about Irene's protection too.

From all the rooms she had checked, the mansion appeared empty. Gracie wasn't convinced that was the case though. She had stumbled across Irene, hadn't she? And if her vision was going to prove true, there was at least one other inhabitant of the mansion. Who was to say that the others weren't hiding out in rooms as well? Gracie retraced her steps back down the hall and began to tentatively call out. "Marie?" She asked uncertainly, lowly at first and slowly gaining strength. "Marie, are you here?"

Nobody answered her. Gracie wasn't sure whether to be relieved or more worried. At least she couldn't hear any growling, that was a plus, right? Gracie took a moment to reflect on who she knew lived in the mansion. There was Remy, of course, the man she had come across upon entering the mansion. Marie seemed to trust him, but Gracie didn't stop to think that for a moment. She had seen some future visions of Marie and Remy, and although the far-far future seemed to be okay for her, her earlier sights of him scared her. She had seen some inappropriate moments in her visions that made her fear for her sister.

Then, there was Mystique. Although Gracie had never seen the woman, she had heard her speaking to Marie. She was obviously the heart of Marie's confusion. Marie thought the woman was her mother, for heaven's sakes. Gracie hated to think of what kind of delusive things they might have been doing or putting into Marie to make her think such crazy things. The woman was obviously not someone to underestimate.

There was also that woman, Wanda, but she was now dead. Gracie had seen it all in her vision. The whole basement scene had played out in her mind before she'd fallen unconscious, including Carol's death and Wanda's burial. Gracie hadn't seen Marie absorb Wanda, but Remy had told her that she had. She wasn't entirely sure about Marie's mutation, but it clearly had to do with her touch. Other than that, she didn't know for certain. On the two occasions it had happened at home, Gracie only knew about David's absorption. Marie had run away after the second guy. She hadn't said much after the first occasion early, but then again, Gracie hadn't given her much space to talk.

Gracie had been scared, she was ashamed to admit. She had heard things about mutants on the television and the way the media spoke about them, they seemed like dangerous killers. She hadn't known any better. Everyone at school always spoke about mutant attacks and terrorists, Gracie hadn't taken the time to consider that they were just normal people. She'd been too fearful to talk to Marie about it.

Gracie shook her head to clear her thoughts. She had a job to do. She could save Marie from all the scary future visions she had gotten, she only had to find her. "Marie?" Gracie called out tentatively, tiptoeing through the hallways as if afraid her footsteps would be heard. She cleared her throat and spoke a little louder. "Marie, we have ta talk."

All was silent. Cautious, Gracie came across a forked pathway that led to two more long hallways of doors. She glanced down both hallways before turning right and starting down that way first. She would double back and check the second way when she finished this route. "Marie?" At the total lack of reaction, Gracie was becoming more confident that she wouldn't meet the beat-man and her voice raised accordingly. "Are you here somewhere?"

There was a banging inside one of the rooms and noises of a person moving. Gracie glanced at a door to her right where the sounds were coming from and her heart skipped a beat in anticipation. "Marie?!" She asked excitedly, stepping up close to the door.

The door opened inward and a towering figure stood inside. Gracie's heart began to race at the familiar form of the beast man inside. He glowered down at her suspiciously. "Yeah, girlie?"

Gracie tried to find her voice, but all that escaped her windpipe was a terrified squeak. She choked over some guttural noises in her throat as she backed up from the door. The man started forward, cornering her against the wall. "I can smell the fear on you." He growled lowly. Gracie, panicking, turned to her left and began to run. With thoughts of her vision still in mind, Gracie had no intention of letting events play themselves out.

She had barely taken two steps when the taller man bounded one leap forward and grabbed the back of her shirt and lifted her cleanly off the ground. Gracie moaned in pain as he carelessly threw her against the wall and agony spiked up her spine. Her knees too weak to support her, she slid down the wall and puddled at the floor. Beastie knelt down to her height and held a talon up to her chin, pricking the tender skin under her throat. "You smell afraid." He hissed at her. Suddenly, his features split into an obscene grin. It made him look more feral and dangerous. His sharp teeth snapped together as he smiled at her and pressed his talon into her throat. A small pinprick of blood fell from under her chin. "I can kill you right here." He threatened menacingly. Sweat beaded Gracie's brow and she suddenly wished she hadn't cut off her vision before it finished.

Immense fear of her immediate death brought back her voice. "Please." She begged, hyperventilating. "Please don' kill me."

The beast's eyes narrowed as his gaze flicked over her, up and down. "You're young to be an agent of Magneto's. What were you sent here for?"

Gracie's eyes widened. "Ah—Ah don' k-k-know what Megnuffa is—p-please. N-Nobody sent me."

The beast seemed to consider her for a moment. "Then what are you here for?" He snarled, grabbing the back of her hair with his other hand and yanking back. Gracie's head jerked back painfully as her neck became further exposed.

Gracie cried out as tears came to her eyes and started dripping down her cheeks. "P-P-Plea-"

"Oh for God's sakes." A clear cut, feminine, British accent interrupted her. "Victor, what the hell are you doing?"

Victor smiled and glanced back at the woman behind him. Gracie let her watery tears fall to let her gaze focus upon the lady. She was tall and imposing, just like Victor, and her features were of a refined Japanese woman. Most striking was the dark purple hair that partially hid a tattoo that covered her entire right eye. "She's a spy."

The woman rolled her eyes dramatically before stepping forward and pushing him away from her. Her eyes scanned over Gracie momentarily before she grabbed her collard and pulled her upright. "Please. She's very nearly wet herself in fright of you, Sabe. No one sent this girl to do anything."

"Then who is she?" Victor grunted.

The woman arched an eyebrow at him. "You could have come to me with that question before scaring the wits out of her." Victor only shrugged. "She thinks she's Rogue's sister and she's looking for her." The woman explained, Gracie stared at her in questioning confusion. How did this woman know anything about her? "I'll take care of her. You should…" she paused, not certain of what Victor should do. "go play with some catnip or something."

Without waiting for an answer, the purple-haired woman turned and grabbed Gracie's wrist, dragging the girl down the hallway with her to another room. She opened the door and literally threw Gracie in. Gracie stumbled and fell, her back hitting the bed with a solid _thunk_ before she slid to the floor again. The woman shut the door behind them and turned to Gracie, eyes blazing.

"They're coming for you."

Of everything she could have expected, this was the last thing she had feared. "W-Whah?"

"Shut up and listen." The woman snapped. "There's a team of mutants who are coming for you. They think you're Rogue, but when they find out that's not the case, you're going to become a hostage to them, an insurance policy to use against Rogue." Gracie opened her mouth to speak, but the woman kept on talking. "I'm psychic, okay, I know what's happening. Listen, no matter what happens or what you may hear, I'm on your side, alright? I'm with the X-Men."

The woman took a deep breath before going on. "Now, the girl you believe to be your sister isn't." Gracie opened her mouth to protest, but she was shushed. "Shh, it's a lot to take in and you may not believe me, not yet anyway, but it's true and it's just something you're going to have to accept. Rogue is Mystique and Logan's daughter."

Gracie's eyes began to water. "It's not true!" She protested.

The woman gritted her teeth when she saw Gracie's tears. "Look, Gracie, I'm trying to do you a favor. You'll find out the truth on your own eventually, just be prepared for it. You need to be prepared for these people when they take you. They have no qualms playing dirty and you won't exactly be enjoying your stay with them."

Gracie was scared, but she didn't know everything that was going on. "Ah jus' want ta take Marie home."

An eyebrow arched at the use of Rogue's real name. "That's not possible right now. You're about to be thrown into the middle of this." Elizabeth shook her head and Gracie saw a flash of sympathy in her eyes. "God, you're so young, too young..."

Gracie breathed in deeply. "Cahn ya protect meh…from them?"

The woman shook her head. "I'm sorry, that's not the way it works." She held her hands together and something shiny glittered between her fingers. The glittering thing expanded outward from her hands in the shape of a long sword of glittering energy. "Just remember Gracie, I'm on your side." She took a step forward and Gracie backed up a little.

"What're ya doin'?" Gracie asked fearfully, glancing at the glittering, translucent blade in her hands.

"They're coming. I'm going to knock you out."

"But—"

"Shush." The woman quieted her. "This is going to hurt, I'm sorry." With that said, the woman slashed down through the air with her translucent blade. Gracie was frozen to the spot in fear as it cut down towards her. The blade touched her head and sunk down into her skull. Her brain screamed with agony, it felt as if someone had just lighted a fire inside her mind. Gracie whimpered softly then fell still.

Above her, Elizabeth disintegrated the blade and turned to the door. It burst open and four mutants rushed inside. They halted at the sight of her back to them. Elizabeth spoke without looking at them. "She's not the girl you're looking for, Callisto."

Callisto's eyebrow arched over her patched eye. Elizabeth detected it, rather than saw it. The woman's black appearance was somewhat disheartening. She had dyed her hair jet black and her attire matched the vibe she was giving out. Black leather pants clung tightly to her curves that flowed up into an open-vested leather jacket with frayed and ripped edges. She wore a spiked dog collar around her neck and another around her right upper arm. Lips painted to match the rest of her, she embodied death itself. Not a woman to be lightly taken.

"Am I supposed to know you?" Callisto growled lowly. "Because I don't recall trading blows with any purple haired bimbos lately."

Another woman stepped up beside Callisto. Elizabeth probed the surface of her mind as she spoke. "She's a mutant, a psychic." Elizabeth got a visual of the girl in her own mind. She had cotton-candy pink hair that fell just past her shoulders and two painted streaks on either side of her face, like a football player. The black marks didn't mar her beauty, but seemed to draw more attention to her face. She wore a simple garb-a dark, long sleeved shirt with denim blue jeans.

"A psychic, huh?" Elizabeth refocused her attention back on Callisto, performing a short scan of her thoughts as well. Callisto seemed the one to be the most threatening of them at the moment. "I don't trust psychics."

There was a soft _swish_ noise in the air which would have been the only hint of something wrong. Luckily, Elizabeth had been delving into Callisto's intentions and knew what the woman was planning. She turned quickly and snatched the knife out of the air before it had time to bury itself in her back. Elizabeth stared at the weapon in her fingers for a moment, speaking as she analyzed the blade. "Attacking while my back is turned? That's not very honorable of you, Calli."

Callisto's eyes narrowed dangerously at her. "I could have you killed in an instant." She threatened, glancing back at the other two mutants behind her. The one on her left was skinny guy with slicked back brown hair. It didn't suit him well, but looked greasy and far too gelled. Elizabeth assumed that had something to do with his mutation. The man, Vindaloo, was a living gelatin-expelling mutant whose slimey guck could turn into a dangerous, flammable napalm attack which he directed with his hands. The other guy was a thicker, more muscled fellow with light blond hair. His name was Randall, but he went by Shocker. Not surprisingly, he could create high voltage shock bolts or manipulate electromagnetic energy to his will.

Elizabeth was unimpressed. "And if I felt like getting shocked to death or hit with napalm, I'm sure I'll call you." Callisto was somewhat alarmed by Elizabeth's extensive knowledge of their mutations, but she hid it well from her expressions.

"What do you seek?" Callisto questioned her. "Coming between me and mine is not an advisable course of action."

Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "Please, I know _you're _not in charge, so let's skip the little power-trip charade and get down to what you've come for." Elizabeth reached down behind her and pulled up Gracie's unconscious form by the scruff of her neck. "This," Elizabeth indicated Gracie, "is not what you're looking for."

"And what am I looking for?" Callisto asked testily, her eyes flicking over Gracie's unconscious form.

"Rogue, of course. But your travel here was not in vain." Elizabeth shook Gracie slightly. "This girl here, her name is Gracie and she means much to Rogue. I will hand her over to you to let you hold her hostage for Rogue _and _lead you to Rogue's current location on one condition."

"Which is?" Callisto snarled, her eyes lighting up on Gracie again. Elizabeth could see the clicks working as Callisto tried to figure if she could simply take Gracie from her. But still, Elizabeth had Rogue's location too. She was convinced it would be enough.

"I want to join the Mutant Champions."

---

**Rogue was disoriented. **The ground below her feet seemed to be moving at an alarming rate, but Rogue felt like she was lying down. In fact, it almost felt as if she wasn't present in her own body, almost as if someone else were…

Rogue's eyes snapped open and wind rushed across her eyes so fast and hard that she had to immediately shut them again, tears formed at the edges of her eyes. She hadn't even seen anything, other than a flash of stark white against a quickly moving background. Rogue's breath started to come out in short puffs as her throat constricted in panic. Had Secon somehow escaped? Was that possible? What if—

_Don't get your panties in a bunch, it's just me._

Rogue's heart thudded heavily in her chest at the familiar voice. _Wanda?_

_Who else do you know with a wit like mine? Honestly, I'd want to meet them._

Rogue's breathing started to slow down to a more regular rate. _What's goin' on? Secon—_

_Is still locked nice and tight, don't worry Rogue._ Rogue breathed in again deeply as her heart slowed. _You fell asleep. Pietro came by and I didn't want him to run off without talking to him. I grabbed up your body, sorry._

_No, it's okay. _Rogue swallowed thickly. _Ah jus' thought…_

_That Secon was free from his binds and out to terrorize your mind? _Wanda shook her head. _You're okay, Rogue._

Rogue murmured something incomprehensible. _Well, umm. Where are we?_

_Almost at Erik's. Can I keep retaining control over your body while I talk to him?_

_That-that makes sense. _Rogue realized she hadn't thought about that beforehand. Of course it'd make more sense to let Wanda simply take control of her body to talk to Erik. _How close are we? _

_We're here._ Wanda replied. Wanda opened her eyes and Rogue could see that they stood just inside what appeared to be a huge garage. Pietro put her down on the ground gently and glanced around the base before turning back to her.

"I'm going to tell him you're here and explain the…situation to him."

Wanda bit down on Rogue's lower lip in nervous habit that Rogue had. "Okay."

Pietro zipped away and Wanda's heart began to pound in Rogue's chest as she watched his back disappear.

---

**Pietro stopped in front of the door to his father's 'office' and took a moment to breathe in deeply.** Despite his assurances to Wanda and his own thoughts on the matter, he wasn't really sure what Erik would do. He had been searching and fighting for this moment for so long, who knew what would happen when he finally got it? Pietro knew his father didn't particularly deserve this moment, but he still wanted to help him. He didn't care that Erik had ignored him for years or that Wanda had hated him. This moment made up for all that. If it worked out the way Pietro wanted, they would finally come together as a family again. That's all Pietro had ever wanted.

It was a weird situation, Rogue not controlling her body all the time. He wondered how she felt about that. How strange would it be to let a remnant of a person in your mind let them control your body? Pietro knew that he couldn't keep Wanda indefinitely because it was not her body, but he was sure he could convince Rogue to let them have a few short hours every couple months or so. Rogue seemed to be the type of person who would allow that.

Pietro swallowed his rising nerves and pushed open the heavy metal door. Erik sat behind his desk, writing something down on a paper. No one else was in the room. Quietly, Pietro shut the door behind him. Erik finished his sentence then put the pen down and smiled up at his son. "Pietro." His eyes were worn and tired. There hadn't been any recent tears, but Pietro was sure his father had been crying not long ago.

"Father." Erik's smile warmed considerably at the word. "We have to talk." Erik's face fell at the continuation and he lowered his eyes back to his paperwork.

"I understand if you want to go, Pietro. I know you were helping me only to try to bring our family back together."

"Go? Father, I will never leave you!" Erik glanced back up to him, surprise mirrored in his own eyes. "You're right when I said I was trying to help the family. How would I help if I left?" Pietro shook his head. "No, I've come to tell you something. You know Rogue, right? The girl you took to Liberty Island?"

Erik winced harshly as if he'd been hit. "Yes, what of her?"

"How much do you know about her mutation?"  
Erik rubbed at his forehead. "Only that she absorbs the gifts of those she touches and that she cannot control her power."

"There's more to it than that." Pietro began. "It's complex, but when she touches a person, she absorbs that whole person directly into her mind. The personality, thoughts, traits, everything. They all go into her and they're a separate entity in her mind, a whole person built up upon the memories and personality of the one she absorbed."

Erik nodded thoughtfully. "That's quite a complex mutation. What of it, son?"

"Wanda made Rogue fully absorb her before she died."

It took half a moment to register to Erik, but when it did, he leapt up out of the chair and rushed over to Pietro. "Are you saying what I think you're telling me, Pietro? Is Wanda alive out there somewhere, manifested in Rogue's mind?"

Pietro nodded. "Yes."

"We have to find Rogue!" Erik exclaimed. "We have to protect that girl no matter what the cost. Some part of Wanda is still alive in her. She must survive. Is she still at the mansion? Where is she, Pietro? We have a new mission—we will not let Rogue die. We will protect her the way…" Erik slowed down. "…the way I failed to do with Wanda." He breathed in through his teeth then raised his eyes back to Pietro. "Where is she, Pietro?"

Pietro swallowed the lump in his throat. "Wanda asked to see you."

Erik's expression totally blanked out for over a minute. It was as if the words physically couldn't register in his brain. They were beacons to him, a light that he had been waiting for ever since he first regretted Wanda's departure. He had waited to talk to his daughter for years and suffered through her continual denial of him. He knew he had no right to ask her to speak with him, but he had tried to call her back anyway, so desperate was he to even just glimpse at the woman she'd become. There was nothing, no blacker deed that he had ever done, than to turn his back on his daughter.

Could she really be asking to see him again? After all this time, after he suffered through her death and all hope of ever telling her how sorry he was in person evaporated, could he now finally have the second chance he didn't deserve to tell her. Erik's grip on Pietro's shirt was white-knuckled and Pietro observed the color draining from his father's face. "I…is-is it true?"

His eyes were so desperate, so needing. Pietro was literally watching his father crumble to pieces before him. Pietro had never seen Erik show so much emotion—from the time Wanda had died to the present moment, Pietro was unaware this man still lived in Erik. This man wasn't a power hungry, conniving mutant terrorist. He was a father.

"I've brought her here. She's waiting to speak to you."

Pietro didn't think it was possible, but Erik's face went whiter yet. No emotion lay hidden in his open face. Pietro could see all the fear in his eyes, the fear that Wanda would reject him, and the hope that maybe, just maybe she'd come to forgive him, even if he didn't deserve it. Pietro thought his father might faint from emotional overload so he grabbed his father up under the arms and supported him only a moment before Erik collapsed in his hands. Pietro glanced down at his father's face, but Erik was still conscious.

"Father?" Pietro asked in concern. "Are you alright?"

Erik's breathing was ragged and his voice, when it came, hoarse. "I…I can't believe it. Sh-She wants to speak…with me? I…"

"Shhh, father. It'll be alright." Pietro hoisted Erik up onto his own two feet, but kept an arm under his shoulders to keep him from collapsing again. "Take a moment to take it in and then I'll take her to you in the warehouse."

Erik's heart never stopped racing.

---

**When Pietro and Erik came into eyesight, Pietro was holding up most of Erik's weight.** He had an arm under Erik's shoulders and was supporting him towards her. When Erik's eyes found Rogue, they alighted with fire and he jumped forward, no longer needing Pietro's support. He rushed towards her with such feeling in his eyes that it was painful for Wanda to look at. She winced and stepped back slightly then cursed silently when she saw Erik halt suddenly and his expression fall.

"Wanda, I'm sorry for—"

Wanda held up a hand to silence him then raised her eyes to the ceiling, finding it hard to look at him as she spoke. "I don't want to hear any apologies." She could feel the absolute despair radiating off Erik at her words and she didn't need to see his expression to see how crestfallen he was. "What's done is done. It's in the past and your expressions alone are enough to tell me how much you regret it." A spark came back to Erik's eyes as he watched her. "I know you never got the chance to tell me while I was alive because I never came around for it to happen. Recently, as a figment in Rogue's mind, I came across her psyche of you." Erik swallowed thickly. "And I asked her to banish it, but while he was there-while you were there, I felt everything you did at the time. All the regret, sorrow, longing, all of it, I felt as if it were my own."

Wanda fidgeted and finally lowered her eyes from the ceiling to stare at the broken old form of her father. "I know how sorry you are for what you've done. I could never face you myself afterwards, but I've been given a second chance now. It…It was just as wrong of me to refuse to see you as your deed had been to me." Tears dripped down from Erik's cheeks, but he didn't even seem to notice. "I just, I--The years of pain it caused you and…I want to-I need to make this right between us. It's been dysfunctional all my life and I know you never stopped hoping that I'd give you a second chance. So, here I am…I'm sorry, father."

Wanda turned her gaze to the floor, unable to physically will herself to observe his reaction. It was hard for her to say the words and mean them, but it was right. She knew how Erik felt about his mistake, had probably been repressing it for years, but coming face-to-face with the psyche Erik had mauled her with his emotions and sorrows. It had been the push she needed, the one that opened her eyes. Erik truly was apologetic for his sins, but more than that, he loved her. Wanda had felt it. It was that emotion that had pushed her over the edge in Rogue's mind. The utterly unrestrained love that he held for her was undeniable and it hurt Wanda to experience it from a man she had hated so much.

She had told herself for all those years what a monster he was. She wasn't wrong, but over time she had convinced herself that he was incapable of loving anything other than power and his own might. She had forgotten what being loved felt like at all. After running away from him, she had Pietro yes, but she treated him like dirt too. Pietro had been a 'spy' of Erik's and she'd pushed him out of her battered heart as well. After seeing Erik in Rogue's mind and being attacked by his irrefutable love for her, the walls around Wanda's heart had fallen down. She couldn't keep up the walls anymore.

Two strong arms wrapped themselves tightly around her and squeezed her close. Wanda laid her head down upon Erik's shoulder. Slowly, hesitating as if she truly didn't believe the moment was there, Wanda returned the hug that Erik had given her. Wet splashes of water dropped down onto the shoulder of Erik's shirt and it took her a moment to realize that the tears were her own. There, in that moment, in Erik's arms, she finally felt peace. There was no inner turmoil that turned her gut and made her doubt the intentions. No fear of being stabbed in the back by someone she had refused to let love her. No fear of anything. All that remained was a mind-numbing calm. She had wanted this, Wanda realized. She had wanted to let someone love her, let them care…be a part of a family again.

_SCREECH! _The abrasively loud collision of metal of metal grated against their ears and Erik and Wanda jumped apart as all eyes followed the location of the noise. Six identical claw tips grated through the metal doors and Rogue came forth in alarm. _Wanda!_ Wanda immediately faded back into the recesses of Rogue's mind as the metal doors fell inward and Logan stepped through the carnage, followed on either side by Mystique and Remy.

His face was covered with sweat and he had a feral expression that complemented the wildness in his eyes. He looked untamed and ready to kill. Logan's eyes fell on her and their gazes met as both froze in place and Logan's feral expression completely melted away in seconds. Time seemed to stop for the hour as the two faced each other without words, frozen in position.

"Th' door was open, _homme_." Remy commented wryly, glancing at the ripped metal under his feet.

The moment was broken with his words and Rogue suddenly found herself able to move again. She leapt forward across the carnage of Logan's entrance and sprung herself at Logan. Logan snatched her out of the air as his claws _snicked_ back into his forearms and he gripped her tightly to his chest. Her feet dangled above the ground and squeezed her securely. Rogue could feel his heavy heartbeat through the thin flannel shirt he wore as it beat out a quick-paced rhythm similar to her own. Rogue buried her head in his neck and the tears came, burning momentarily in her eyes before sliding down her cheeks and softly flopping onto his shoulder.

"Ah missed you." Rogue's voice was muffled through her tears and his neck. She never wanted to let go of him. Logan was back. He had come for her.

"I'll never let you go again." Logan promised, as if reading her very thoughts. Rogue stifled another sob and clung tighter to him. Logan made her feel good. There was nothing that could ever harm her when he was around, nothing she would be unable to deal with. Rogue realized she had looked up to Logan as a father figure and as her best friend. She could tell Logan anything and Logan always made her feel better. He was there to make it right for her, no matter what the situation. Logan made everything right.

"Ah've been lost, Logan. Ah lost mah way."

"It's going to be okay, Marie. I found you. We're going to make it all right. You're not alone in this anymore." _Not alone anymore. _She wasn't, Rogue realized. She was with her family now and she was going to make damn sure that _nothing_ tore that apart.


	24. Invasion

"**It's **_**my **_**turn to choose what we watch and I say we watch American Idol, so deal with it!"** Sparks grabbed the remote out of Rahne's hands and switched the channel. Rahne reached for it to grab it back, but Sparks stopped her by crackling his fingers together. Little electric sparks danced between his fingers and he glared threateningly at Rahne. "It's my turn."

Rahne growled at him defensively and her jaw started to draw back as her canines elongated and fur started spreading over her body.

"Hey!" Bobby stepped between the two kids and held Rahne back with a restraining arm. "That's enough you two. If you don't start behaving I'm going to send you both to your rooms."

Sparks sneered at Bobby. "Yeah, popsicle? Everyone knows you were left behind because the X-Men don't need you." His fingers started crackling with energy. "I could take you."

"Sparks, I'm warning you—"

"Or you'll what? Drip on me?" Sparks made to grab Bobby's arm, but Bobby was too quick for him. He iced over his fist and grabbed Sparks by the arm before sending an icy chill crawling down the boy's spine. Sparks yelped in surprise and backpedaled away from Bobby. He caught himself quickly and glared back up at the mutant who had embarrassed him. Sparks held out his hand and a sparky charge started to build up in his palms before Kurt grabbed him from behind.

"You need to calm down, _mien liebe_." Without another word, Kurt teleported away with the boy, supposedly to one of the upstairs rooms to help him calm down.

Bobby glanced around the room. The kids had all quieted down and were staring at him with a mixture of awe and fear. Bobby picked up the remote and handed it over to Rahne. "No more arguing, okay guys? The other X-Men will be back soon and I don't want trouble interfering here." A few of the kids nodded, but the rest remained silent and motionless. Bobby gestured towards the television. "Watch something that you can all agree on."

Feeling slightly awkward playing the adult and from the lasting silence, Bobby made his way out of the family communal room and into the kitchen. It was empty. He leaned back against the counter with an exhausted sigh and rubbed his eyes. Something about the X-Men's departure always brought out the nerves in the kids and they always seemed like more trouble. Maybe it was just because they were more nervous without the X-Men around, but they made fights among themselves and caused more trouble in the X-Men's absence.

The opposite entrance to the kitchen door swung in and a little girl came running through the entry. Her eyes were a deep purple color and Bobby recognized that Magenta was working hard at keeping her power at bay. Bobby hurried over to the little girl and took her hand as her head swung wildly in his direction. "Are you alright, Magenta? Just take a few breaths and let it pass. You control your projections."

Magenta had tears in her eyes. "It's not me—it's Bethany! She's hurt, Bobby! You have to help!" Magenta grabbed at her head in pain. Bobby recognized that she was still trying to hold back her power and it was paining her.

"Close your eyes, Magenta. Take a minute to calm down." Bobby urged Magenta. He knew how dangerous her mutation could be if she let it go off uncontrolled in an emotional moment. She squeezed her eyes shut and inhaled deeply. When she opened her eyes again, the deep purple color had receded and they were her normal brown. Shiny wet with unshed tears, Bobby clutched at the little girl's hand. "It's going to be okay—where's Bethany?"

"This way." Magenta started to lead the way down the girl's wing towards the kid's dorms. A few tears slid down from her chocolate brown eyes. "I think she's dying."

"What?" Bobby asked, alarmed before he could stop himself. He couldn't be allowed to show these kids that he was afraid. If something was happening to Bethany he had to be the leader and fearlessly fight it off. He and Kurt were the kids' only defense at the moment. "Hurry." Magenta was already running as fast as her little legs could carry her, but the pace was only a quick walk for Bobby. They arrived at the door to her room and Bobby quickly pushed inside.

On the bed in the middle of the room, Bethany lay with her back to the door. She was whimpering and her black hair was splayed over the pillow as if she'd been tossing and turning for the last half hour. Bobby could hear her ragged breathing from the door. He approached her bedside cautiously, wary that Bethany could be experiencing another manifestation in her mutation. The girl was only thirteen years old—she could potentially still discover unexplored areas of her mutation yet.

"Bethany?" Bobby asked softly. "Bethany, are you okay? Tell me what's wrong."

"My stomach." Bethany whimpered. "I'm bleeding. I'm dying."

"You're bleeding from your stomach?" Bobby went around the edge of her bed to see what the girl meant.

Tears were dripping down Bethany's cheeks as she clutched at her belly. There was a dark red stain on the mattress that had soaked through her flimsy shorts. Bobby's eyes widened in understanding. "Oh! You mean—oh…"

Bethany was still crying. "It hurts." She winced. "Help me. Save me."

Bobby glanced back up at the door where Magenta still stood. She was chewing on her fingernails nervously. "She's going to be okay." Bobby told the girl, afraid of alarming her mutation into triggering. "I need you to go get some Midol from the cupboard, Magenta." Magenta nodded gravely and rushed off. Bobby turned back to Bethany.

"Beth—I know this hurts right now, but it's going to get better. You're not dying."

Bethany groaned and hugged her stomach tighter. "What's happening to me? Why me?"

Bobby smiled lightly at that. "It's not just you, Bethany."

"It's happened to you too?" Bethany asked him, her eyes glazed with tears.

Bobby almost chuckled. "Well, not me specifically. It happens to all girls when they reached maturity." Bobby debated how to relay the information to Bethany. He wished Storm had left Kitty with him instead of Kurt. Kitty would be good at explaining this. "You see…when girls reach a certain age they start to menstruate."

"Menstruate?"

Bobby gestured to her. "They bleed and get stomach cramps. Don't worry though, it only happens for about five days per month."

Bethany's eyes widened in horror. "Five days every month? I'm going to bleed for five days every month?"

"It's not as bad as it seems—"

"Like Hell it isn't!" The girl complained. "You don't know how it feels! I'm in so much pain, I want to die."

"There's stuff that helps with the pain." Bobby explained quickly. "You just have to take a few Midol every so often and the pain won't be so bad. And you're not the only one in this situation, Beth. It happens to all girls when their bodies start to ready themselves for pregnancy—"

Bethany sat up so quickly that Bobby entirely missed the action. Her jaw was dropped in terror and Bobby could see the obvious fear in her eyes. "I-I'm pregnant? But-but how? I've never—you know, I never—I didn't, I swear I didn't—"

Bobby realized his mistake. "Whoa! Beth, slow down! You're not pregnant!"

"I'm not?"

"No, I promise you're not pregnant." Bethany's whole frame relaxed back down onto the bed before she winced and grabbed her stomach again.

She glared at Bobby. "But you said—"

Bobby shook his head. "I'm not doing a good job at explaining this."

Magenta showed up at the door again carrying an armful of Midol pill jars. "I didn't know how many you wanted." She explained. "So I brought all the ones I could find."

Bobby nodded thankfully at the ten year old. "Thank you Magenta." Magenta jumped up and down for a second after Bobby had taken the pills before she scampered back to the door. She was knocked over by an older student as soon as she got to the hallway.

"Sorry." The student apologized, helping Magenta up.

"Jubilee!" Bobby jumped at his shot at relief. "Come here for a moment." Jubilee was one of the older teenagers in the house, but she wasn't yet out of highschool and had yet to take her X-Men tests. She was regarded with more respect than most for her position, but she still had to answer to the X-Men members. "I need help." Bobby explained, gesturing to Bethany.

Jubilee's eyes lit up in slight alarm. "Oh! Beth! Here, girl." Jubilee took a bottle out of the pile on the edge of the bed and popped the lid. She took out two pills and gave them to Bethany along with a water bottle she had found on the nightstand beside her. "Take those. Don't worry; this is a totally natural thing. It's called PMS and it happens when your body—" Bobby silently stood up and made his way to the door. It looked like Jubilee was handling it better than he had. Neither girl noticed when he slipped out back into the hallway and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Well _that _was awkward." Relieved, Bobby started making his way back to the kitchen when _bamf!_ a small implosion of smoke and brimstone popped right in front of him and he nearly collided into Kurt. Bobby squeaked girlishly and shook his head to clear his racing thoughts, a hand rested against his chest where his heart was racing a mile a minute. "You'll give me a heart attack like that Kurt."

"I apologize." Kurt said politely. "I just vanted to update you zat Sparks is okay now. He's in his room."

"Thanks for that. He was being a little hotheaded today."

Kurt nodded in understanding. "Ze kids are nervous."

"They don't like it when the X-Men leave." Bobby explained. "The attack on the mansion from Stryker's commandos left a big mark with them."

A scream followed his words from the family room. Bobby sighed. "I'll look into it—" the words were barely out of his mouth by the time another scream followed the first, this one was loud and ear-piercing. Bobby would recognize Siren's scream from anywhere. The girl knew how much damage her voice could do and didn't screech unless the situation was direly serious. Bobby glanced at Kurt. "Quick-go see what's happening in there." Kurt teleported away and Bobby momentarily choked on the brimstone as he made his way back to the kitchen.

Siren's scream cut off mid-howl and Bobby knew something was wrong. Before he reached the kitchen, one of the doors to the kid's room popped open and Bobby was faced with a man he didn't know. The guy clapped his hands together and a power wave surged outward from his clasped fists. The wave was so strong that it knocked Bobby right off his feet and his back collided painfully with the wall.

Fist-clapper roared with an animalistic howl and separated his hands to clap them together again. Bobby quickly sent a stream of ice at the guy and iced over his hands. He led a trail that worked all the way down to the ground so that Clapper boy couldn't smash his fists against anything to break the ice—or against each other. Clap-man glanced at his hands, both of which were incased in ice and fixed to the floor, before he yowled again and made to kick Bobby. Bobby rolled out of the way and sent another stream of ice at the man's feet to lock those in place as well.

He was about to question the guy when Siren's scream started up again and Bobby had to clap his hands to his ears in pain. He cast one last sidelong look at the mutant before he hurried into the kitchen.

The kitchen was a mess. Several cupboards had been blasted apart and the door swung precariously off its hinges. It was obvious a fight had taken place here. Audie, the little boy with the reptilian tongue and poisonous venom, was unconscious on the floor. Two other X-kids were trapped inside a green force-bubble that a straining mutant female was struggling to hold. The kids were beating against the inside of the bubble. One, Bobby recognized as Combust, was furiously rubbing his hands together and creating a charge to break the bubble.

"Hey!" Bobby yelled at the mutant who was holding them hostage. He grabbed the first thing he could get his hands on—a pop can—and iced the object over before throwing it at the mutant. She dodged out of the way, but her concentration was breaking and Bobby saw the bubble start to fade. He jumped at the girl—and collided directly into a muscle-house of a man. Bobby fell back on his butt as muscles reached down to grab his throat. As soon as his fingers touched Bobby's skin, Bobby felt a weird, tingly sensation and then nothing. He tried to move his arm to grab the man, but he couldn't bring his body to move. He was paralyzed.

Muscles grinned deviously at him. "Name's Circuit—and yours has just been cut short." He grabbed Bobby by the throat and picked him up. Bobby's air was being cut off by his grip, but he couldn't move a muscle to stop Circuit. "Whatcha think, Bubbles? He seems to be older than the rest. Think he's one of the X-Men?"

The girl sneered at him. "My name is Cassandra."

"Yeah, whatever Fizzy." Circuit turned back to Bobby. "So what is it, champ? You one of the X-men or what?"

Bobby suddenly felt that he could talk. He tried again to swipe at Circuit, but he was still unable to move the rest of his body. "What do you want?"

Circuit shook his head at Bobby. "That's not the way it works, bud. I'm winning the battle—you answer my questions."

Kurt suddenly appeared in the doorway and Bobby's eyes darted over to him frantically. "Kurt! Grab everyone you can and go—" Bobby's air was suddenly entirely cut off by Circuit's grip on his throat and he choked as the man squeezed his windpipe. Bobby was grateful to see that Kurt had disappeared from the doorway. Black dots started to appear in his vision and Bobby knew he was only moments away from losing consciousness, maybe even death. He tried once again to get his limbs to move, but still, nothing responded to his brain's command. Everything was rapidly fading from his sight. He got one last look at Circuit who was saying something, then his eyes shut and he felt no more.

---

**Kurt appeared in the middle of the chaotic-looking family room with a familiar **_**bamf**_. The place had been trashed. Pillows were ripped up, the sofa had several slash marks on it, and stuff was scattered all over the floor. The television had fallen down and stray sparks were sprouting out of the socket. Kids were screaming and running and fighting all over the place.

One man had a girl in a headlock and was cackling gleefully as she gasped to take in another breath. Kurt went to help her first. He teleported behind the man and kicked him in the back. The guy stumbled forward and lost his hold on the girl who wrenched herself out of his grasp and opened her mouth. A terribly loud screeching followed. It was so painful that Kurt immediately fell back slightly and covered his eardrums. A wet, sticky substance dripped down from the insides of his ears and he realized that his ears were bleeding. The man on the floor cringed at the noise too and jabbed an arm at the girl's knees. She fell down with a yelp, but didn't get to scream again because the man grabbed her throat.

Kurt raced forward and kicked the man's hands away. The girl opened her mouth to scream a third time, but Kurt frantically shook his head. "No!" He grabbed the girl's arm and hoisted her up. "Follow me."

Kurt turned to the chaos again. There was too much to focus on at once. He needed Bobby. Quickly, Kurt dashed over to the kitchen door to meet up with his fellow X-man. The sight that greeted him stunned him. Two children were caught in a green bubble and another one lay unconscious, sprawled across the floor. In the middle of the room, Bobby hung limply from the grasp of an over-muscled freak who grinned maniacally.

Bobby's eyes met his. "Kurt! Grab all the kids you can and go—" He was cut off as the muscled maniac started to choke off his air. It was almost more than he could stand for, but Kurt knew that Bobby would not have told him to go if he thought Kurt could take them. The fact that Bobby couldn't take them proved that enough. Kurt disappeared from the doorway and turned back to the chaotic family room. Kurt looked down at the little girl beside him.

"Hold onto me tightly and grab hold of every kid you know, okay? Now start screaming." The girl nodded once, very used to taking commands from the X-Men, then opened her jaw and screeched. Kurt stumbled at the noise at first, but quickly regained his composure as he saw everyone else in the room cringe and hold up their own hands to their ears. Dashing forward, Kurt grabbed two kids wrists in one hand and a little girl with his other one. Siren was clutching his forearm tightly, but she didn't forget to obey and she quickly latched onto another boy who was wrestling with one of the invaders.

Kurt visualized the forest behind the school. Way back deep in the forest. He sometimes went there for quiet and peaceful reflection to be by himself. It was miles away from the school and deep into the trees. Kurt and all those who had latched onto him disappeared with a _bamf._

Half a second later, they all reappeared in the forest. The kids doubled over, holding their stomachs in pain, and one began to throw up in a thicket of bushes. Kurt himself stumbled for a half a minute, unused to teleporting that many people at once. His dizziness passed and Kurt shook his head to clear it as he glanced around at the children he had taken with him. He was exhausted from the trip, but he had to focus so he shook it off.

He had taken six of them and one who obviously wasn't a part of the X-Men. The guy had coal black eyes, but that was the only physical outward manifestation of mutation that Kurt could detect. He was backing away from them slowly, but stopped when Kurt's eyes fell upon him.

"Damn, friend, you really got the short end of the mutation's stick. And I thought mine was bad…"

Kurt glanced around at the kids. He recognized a few of them. One of the girls was named Wolfsbane—or at least, that was her codename. At the moment she was covered in short, brown fur and her pupils were wide-almost entirely taking up the eye. Two long canines extended down from a mouth full of sharp, dangerous looking teeth. Another was the girl who had helped him. She was a cute blond little girl named Siren and it was impossible to tell how lethal she was just by looking at her. The last girl was a young lass who couldn't have been older than nine or ten. She was chewing on her fingernails nervously and glancing around her surroundings as if lost. She didn't look very dangerous.

The other three mutants were boys. One of them had light, fluffy blond hair and innocent blue eyes. He was petting Wolfsbane and attempting to calm the girl down. Kurt didn't know the kid, but he had heard someone call him 'Cannonball' one time. The next kid was a brown haired, skinny boy who had thrown up into the bushes. Kurt recognized the boy—he had a mutation that consumed energy at an accelerated rate. Other than digesting food rapidly, Kurt didn't know of any abilities the kid had, but he did know how fast the boy's body ate up calories and energy. It wouldn't be long before the boy needed to be fed, otherwise he'd fall unconscious. Kurt didn't recognize the last boy—a tall, lanky boy with bleach blond hair and a lean build. He looked to be a little older than the other kids, at least 15 or so. "Anyone here posses talents to hold him down?" Kurt asked the assembly.

Bleach boy drew a hand through his ruffled hair and stepped up to the plate. "I can control nature's growth." He volunteered. Kurt raised an eyebrow at him and was about to ask the boy to explain what he meant when the youngling grinned mischievously and gestured at the black-eyed man.

Kurt's jaw dropped a little at the spectacle. Vines and roots had shot up out of the ground and wrapped themselves around the man's wrists and ankles. A big root had climbed up over the man's abdomen and dove into the ground on the other side, securely locking the man in place. The guy squirmed on the ground. "Nice work."

The nervous little girl glanced around them. "Are you sure it'll hold him?"

Bleach boy nodded. "Don't worry Magenta. He's got a lame-ass power. All he can do is see in the dark well."

Cannonball swallowed thickly. "What about the other kids? Paige is still…"

Kurt shook his head. "Ze mutants vho attacked have locked down ze mansion. We can't go back, I'm sorry."

The brown haired boy put a hand on Cannonball's shoulder. "Maybe she escaped through one of the tunnels, Guthrie." Guthrie nodded, but defeat was in his eyes. He didn't believe it.

Wolfsbane was still breathing heavily like a dog. She was in the middle of de-transforming. The fur had curled back into her skin and her eyes had returned to normal, but her teeth had yet to shrink back to normal size. The picture was somewhat horrifying-the jowls of a dog overlapped her lips and the sharp teeth looked menacing. "'Art eow?" Wolfsbane swallowed thickly and pushed the de-transforming faster. Her teeth shrunk back to normal and she shook her head as if to clear it. "What now?" She asked again, this time more clearly.

Kurt glanced at the black eyed man who was tied to the floor then back at the children. He stared at the bleach-haired boy for a minute. "You are in charge…"

The boy flashed him a white-toothed grin. "Zack."

"Zack." Kurt finished. "Try to find out why zey attacked us." He glanced over at the mutant who was strapped down again. "I'm trusting you with all of zere safety for now."

Siren stared at him longingly, willing him not to go. "Where are you going?"

"I vill check ze tunnels and find any else who escaped." Kurt nodded to each of them. "Keep quiet vhile I am gone. If he starts drawing attention-" Kurt gestured at the mutant on the ground. "Knock him out. Stay here until I get back—it won't be long."

Kurt _bamfed_ away and left the kids there. The X-Men had trained them, they should be alright for a few minutes. At least, he hoped so. Although they were trained for situations like these, Kurt still didn't like leaving them alone. He would do a quick sweep of the tunnels, he decided. He wouldn't go beyond that.

Kurt appeared in the tunnel that led out under the garage. It appeared empty. He ran down the pathway for a little bit to make sure, but came up empty handed all the same. He didn't expect that many of the kids would have been able to find their way out through this one—it was connected to the back of the garage and they kids shouldn't have been in the garage anyway. Kurt decided no one was there and quickly teleported into the next tunnel.

This tunnel led from the girl's wing down and twisted around to catch up with the garage exit at the very end. He heard voices down the pathway and hurried to catch up to them. When he rounded the corner, an array of bright, multicolored lights seared his eyes and Kurt quickly closed his eyes and covered his lids with his hands. A heavy weight jumped on his chest and all the air rushed out of his lungs for a moment as his body adjusted to the weight.

"You freakin' bastards, why can't you leave us alon—" The screaming voice suddenly cut off. "Kurt?"

Kurt groaned. "Jubilee."

It took another few seconds to register to Jubilee. "Oh! Kurt! I'm sorry!" Jubilee rolled off Kurt and got to her feet. She held out a hand and pulled Kurt up before making an attempt to dust him off. "Are you okay, Kurt? I thought you were one of the mutants who invaded the mansion, I'm sorry!"

Kurt waved her off as he blinked rapidly, trying to readjust his eyes to the dark tunnels. "It is okay, I vill survive." Jubilee chuckled as if he were making a joke. "Is vere anyone else down here?"

"Oh yeah." It looked like the thought had just occurred to her. "Bethany, you can come out now." A younger girl rounded the corner. She was holding her stomach and in obvious pain. Kurt wondered if she had gotten injured, but Jubilee didn't seem to notice.

"You didn't come across anyone else?" Kurt asked hesitantly.

Jubilee shook her head. "We were both in Bethany's bedroom when the screaming started. We headed straight for the tunnels."

Kurt nodded understandingly. "Vait here. I vill check ze other tunnels and come back here." Jubilee nodded as Kurt disappeared in a cloud of brimstone. She turned to Bethany who was still clutching her stomach in pain.

"It'll get better." She assured the girl. "It takes some time for the pills to take effect."

Bethany winced. "I hope so. Do you know how weird this feels? It's like I'm peeing myself."

Jubilee laughed at her distress. "You'll get used to it. I'm jus' glad we took care of it in time before the bad guys came."

"Speaking of—who were they?"

Jubilee shrugged. "Someone or another is always tryin' to get at the mansion for their own purposes. I wouldn't worry too much. The X-Men will handle it when they get back. They always work these things out in the end." Bethany admired Jubilee's carefree attitude. She couldn't quite adopt the same one herself. She was worried about the mansion and its inhabitants. What would become of the kids who hadn't gotten out? Jubilee reached in her pocket and pulled out a small package. "Gum?" She offered. Bethany shook her head, but Jubilee took a piece for herself and popped it in her mouth.

Bethany couldn't quite grasp Jubilee's lightness. "What do you think they want?" She asked after a moment of silence. Jubilee's gum popping was the only thing that interrupted the stillness.

Again, Jubilee shrugged. "You jus' never know with these types. It's either mutant hate—which, judgin' from the fact that they were mutants, I'm thinking not—or mutant dominance. People can't ever be satisfied with what they've got." Jubilee rolled her shoulders back and one of her shoulder blades cracked loudly. "Always lookin' for power or more control.

"They don't understand that more power and possessions and such—that's not gunna make 'em happy. It's not gunna change the way the world looks at us, and really, that's what they're lookin' for. Dominance won't make 'em happy. They just want to be accepted." Jubilee started tossing sparks up between her fingers. "See, I'll tell ya what, Bethy. Just be glad for whatcha got and you'll be happier than most of the world. I promise you that."

Bethany opened her mouth to reply, but she was interrupted by a suffocating cloud of brimstone. She coughed lightly and struggled to keep her eyes open through the smoke to see what had just happened.

Kurt was back and he wasn't alone. He had two other kids with him. One was a boy with jet black hair and a bloody nose. He was shaking badly and he fell to his knees after the teleport. He combed a hand through his spiky hair and glared at Kurt. "Well that was a bowl of candy and a half."

"Shut up, Sparks." Jubilee commanded coolly, popping her gum again as she examined her fingernails. "How are you, Paige? Doing alright?"

Normally, Paige was a cute little blond girl with penetrating green eyes and a tentative smile. But this Paige was a moving diamond. She had shed her outer layer of skin in favor for the harder, unscratchable surface of a diamond for protection during the fight. She was crystal clear and beautiful in this form.

She was also very self conscious of the fact that she didn't have any clothes. Any time Husk husked away a layer of skin, her clothes usually fell away with it. Paige crossed her arms over her chest with a squeak and turned away from the group, hiding behind Kurt. Now that the immediate danger was gone, she was reverting back to her shy, conscious self. Jubilee smiled softly at the younger girl's embarrassment.

"We need to get you some clothes, girl." Kurt glanced down apologetically at his own attire. He was only dressed in shorts and had no shirt or anything to offer Paige. Jubilee pulled off her jean jacket so that she only wore a cami underneath and went over to Paige. Paige squeaked as Jubilee inspected her and then turned back to the group. "Sparks, boxers or briefs?"

"What?" Sparks asked, scandalized.

"Do you wear boxers or briefs?"

"I can't see how that—"

Jubilee tapped her foot impatiently. "Sparks." She said warningly.

Sparks glared at her. "I wear boxers."

Jubilee's grin widened at him. "Well hun, we're gunna need your jeans then. Paige obviously can't go prancing around naked so. Go on, take off your pants."

"What?! I'm not—"

Jubilee shook her head at him and turned to Bethany. "Help a chica out here, girl. Slow time around him."

Bethany nervously did as she was told and Sparks protesting died in his throat as time started to move around him in slow motion. Jubilee stepped up to him and unbuckled his pants before removing the offending garment and winking at Bethany. "Thanks girl, you can let him go now."

Bethany obeyed again and Sparks broke off mid-protest. "Bollocks. This is just—I mean, how invasive."

"Silence in the peanut gallery." Jubilee commanded. "You three, go around that corner."

"Why?" Sparks asked defensively.

"Let's try to give a girl some privacy as she dresses, huh?" Sparks flushed a little and turned away grumblingly. Kurt and Bethany followed around the corner and Jubilee turned back to Husk. "Okay, Paige, got you some clothes. Shed your diamond skin and let's get you dressed."

Paige looked scandalized too. "But—"

Jubilee waved her off. "Oh hush, hush girl. You haven't got anything that I haven't already seen."

"But…" Paige looked striken. "I don't have any underwear…"

Jubilee chuckled. "Half of us don't even wear underwear hunny. Come on, it'll all be alright."

Paige was as red as a tomato. "Could you…"

Jubilee smiled at her kindly. "We're right around the corner when you're done." Jubilee rejoined the others and they waited a couple minutes for Paige. The jeans were too baggy and big for her, but the belt held them in place. She didn't have anything to wear under Jubilee's jean jacket so the jacket was buttoned tight down the front. It fell a good three inches above the waistline of her jeans and she self-consciously crossed her arms across her exposed stomach. Jubilee smiled at her graciously. "You're a hottie." She winked at her. Paige shifted uncomfortably. She wished Jubilee wore correct sized clothes. Come to think of it, she was surprised Jubilee fit into the jacket at all. It was tight on her!

Kurt coughed a little and Sparks stared at Paige with a grin, obviously basking in her discomfort. "Do you always wear baby's clothes, Jubilee?"

Jubilee smacked him against the back of the head then turned to Kurt. "So, what now?"

"I brought a number of kids to ze forest out back. Zey are still there alone. Ve need to go to them."

Jubilee nodded. "Well, port us away, 'Crawler!" Kurt nodded solemnly and everybody joined hands. In the blink of an eye, they all disappeared. All that remained of evidence from their passing was a faint trace of brimstone smoke in the air.


	25. Tasting Blood

**Irene let out a wistful sigh as footsteps pounded against the floor behind her.** She closed her unseeing eyes and a couple of tears fell from her misty white eyes from behind her dark glasses. She had known all along that this might happen, but she had the highest hopes that it would not. These people were supposed to be champions for the mutant's cause. She had thought that, because of that, they might fulfill her wish, if for no other reason than to be honorable to their cause. "I don't suppose you've come to thank me."

"The girl you sent us after was not Rogue." The voice was feminine and husky.

Irene blinked. "What?"

"You failed us, Irene."

Irene buried her head in her arms. "I've led you to everything you've asked for. I pointed out the girl to you and I tried to send her directly to you. Is it really that much to ask that you fulfill your end of our bargain?"

"We cannot let Mystique's memory be altered for your purposes. She means too much to the girl."

Irene breathed in steadily. "At least they sent you to do it. That means a little something, I suppose."

A piercing pain broke through Irene's back and dug its way all the way through to the front of her breast, where her heart was steadily beating. It felt as if someone had reached inside of her and ripped her heart out. Irene choked as her heart stopped beating and blood began to fill her mouth. The sickly metallic taste touched her tongue and one last tear fell from Irene Adler's eye before she fell out of the chair and hit the ground with a thud. A drizzle of blood leaked out of her mouth and puddled on the floor. The killer stared at her limp body for a minute before grabbing the hilt of the knife and pulling it out with a sticky _swecpt_. "I'm sorry, Irene." Without another word, she turned and left the mansion. Headquarters were calling her back.

---

**Kurt disappeared with his tradition puff of brimstone and Zack trekked back to the group of waiting kids. **They were nervous, and Zack understood that. This was the second time the mansion had been attacked and it had to be grating on the kids nerves. They were just children, after all. Hell, Zack himself was only a kid, but he liked to think of himself as smarter than a normal teenager his age. Kurt's trust in him only strengthened the leadership role in his character.

He couldn't be scared in front of them, no matter what. That was of utmost importance. If the students saw that their leader was afraid, they would be terrified. He'd have to have a strong front for them. Zack lifted his chin and his eyes roamed over the group assembled before him.

Magenta was the youngest of them all. At only ten years old, Zack wondered what kind of emotional stresser had evoked her mutation so soon. The girl hadn't even reached puberty yet. It was surprising how quickly her mutation had emerged. Next to her stood Siren and stick-boy Philip. They were both pretty young too, only two years older than Magenta. Zack thought it was ironic that Philip's mutation had been born from an eating disorder. The boy hadn't always been small. He'd been a tubby little thing until his mutation struck and downsized him. Now, the boy could eat all he wanted and never gain a pound.

Siren was a different story. When she had first come to the mansion, Xavier had to work endlessly with her to make sure she didn't accidentally screech. More than a few windows had been broken since the time of her arrival. However, after spending hours working with her, Xavier had found a way to help her and they'd even worked out a system. Siren only screamed now when her life—or someone else's—was in danger. She had learned fast for being so young. Still, students had to be careful not to surprise her. A single yelp from her was as painful as a nuclear cannon blast.

And then there was Sam and finally Rahne. Sam was a funny little kid. He was always so nervous about offending others that he was oftentimes over polite. He didn't like to cause trouble and he always watched out for his little sister. He was a protective, good-natured boy who took orders efficiently, but was to shy for any leadership role himself. At least not yet. And Rahne, Zack pondered over her. Rahne was actually the same age as him, but the girl had a wild side in her. Zack didn't know if it came from her mutation or just from her personality, but the girl was quick to a temper and didn't take critical comments well. Zack had seen Sparks insult Rahne inside and Rahne's immediate reaction had been resort to her mutation to supposedly pound him. He was glad that there really wasn't any other troublemakers in the group to rile her up.

"Okay, guys. Nightcrawler's going to be back soon, but while he's gone we've got to get what we can outa him." He gestured over to the black-eyed man who was still strapped down with vines and roots. "Sam, stay over there." He pointed to a tree that was about twenty feet away. "And watch Magenta, Philip, and Siren. I don't want either of them to be getting upset or anything."

"Me?" Sam asked in bewilderment.

Zack smiled at the boy's expression and surprise. "You've got a level head and you're a good guy, Sam." He encouraged the boy. "Just wait over there for me and Rahne." Sam swallowed as if he was nervous and took his charges over to the directed tree. Zack grinned to himself. The boy really deserved more credit than was given him. He was a good kid.

Rahne cocked an eyebrow at him. "And we question him?"

Zack nodded. "That's the idea. Listen, Rahne." He had to get the idea across to her. "The guy probably won't talk if we simply ask him to. I want to appear intimidating, but don't actually hurt him. Kind of lookin' to do a good-cop, bad-cop senerio. Okay?"

Rahne grinned slyly. "And I'm the bad cop? Gotcha boss." Zack gave her a demeaning look and Rahne backed down slightly. "Okay, okay, I got it." Together, the two young mutants turned to the one lying on the ground and Zack knelt down next to him while Rahne stood at his feet.

To his credit, the man stopped struggling against his bonds at their approach and openly glared at Zack. Before Zack even opened his mouth, the man barked out. "I ain't telling you anything."

Zack frowned and his eyebrows drew together slightly. "We want some answers."

The guy sneered. "And I want a vacation in Hawaii. Guess it's not our day, huh?"

Rahne's eyebrows crossed darkly and she knelt down next to him. Her fingers had already started to claw as she grabbed the man's shirt in her hands. "Listen, asshole. You're going to answer our questions." Her eyes started to darken and fur sprouted over her face as her teeth began to elongate. "Whether you want to or not."

The man's eyes narrowed. "You're not going to hurt me." He scoffed, but Rahne could see the fear creeping into his eyes at her visage. "I'm not afraid of a bunch of little kids."

Rahne's clawed hands sharpened and pierced through his shirt before coming into contact with his flesh and slightly grazing the skin. "We'll have to see about that." Rahne's speech was becoming more muffled and blurry as her mouth lengthened to adjust for her new jowls. The tips of her claws began digging into his chest and the man yelped as tiny pinpricks of blood emerged.

"Rahne…" Zack said warningly.

Rahne growled at him lowly and Zack wasn't sure if she could even speak anymore. She had chosen to go into half-transformation where she wasn't yet a wolf, but instead appeared as an eerie half-woman, half-wolf werewolf nightmare girl. Her loose clothes were suddenly bulging with fur and muscle that rippled off her form, as if she were some kind of majestic wolf.

Below her, the man's eyes had widened in fright, but he kept his jaw clenched shut. Rahne growled at him lowly and he closed his eyes, trying to rid his mind of her scary figure. Rahne stayed poised on him for only a few moments longer before she jumped down, jowls opened wide, and clamped down on his wrist.

The man's eyes shot open and he howled in pain as Rahne bit into his wrist and drew blood.

"Ahh!"

Zack jumped up in surprise. "Rahne!" She didn't acknowledge him, so he grabbed her around the waist and started to pull her off the guy. When he touched her, Rahne let go of the man's wrist and turned to face him with bloodlust in her eyes. The hunger and feral intent in her gaze made Zack wonder just how much control Rahne had over her mutation. Her jowls were dripping with blood and she truly looked animalistic.

When Zack didn't approach her again, she turned back to their captive and lunged as her body shifted even more. Full fledged werewolf, she landed on all fours on his chest. Her clawed paws dug into the skin on his chest and the man howled as tears came to his eyes. He couldn't even bring up his arms to defend himself. Rahne lowered her jaws to his neck and Zack stepped forward to intercede.

Before he could, the man yelped. "Please, no! I'll tell you! Anything! Everything! Whatever you want to hear! Don't kill me!" Rahne's head paused at the word _kill_. As Zack speculated, the specter before him kind of looked ridiculous. The wolf Rahne had become was draped over in a shirt that was now much too big for her and awkward around her front paws. Her pants hung loosely attached around her waist that ran down her legs. Her bottom two paws still had socks on them, but the shoes had fallen off and a necklace dangled down in front of the man's face. It would almost be comical if it weren't so serious.

Rahne's fur started to fade from her face as her jowls receded. The transformation itself looked horrifying and Zack had to believe that it was awfully painful. Rahne grimaced as her bones readjusted and crackled back to her human form. She rolled off the man and onto her back as the transformation continued and she became a normal girl again. Rahne shut her eyes and jerked spastically on the ground before finally settling to rest as herself. She stayed there on the ground, eyes closed as it finished.

Zack was concerned for her and his immediate thoughts told him to go to her, but the situation warranted his attention elsewhere. He had to take advantage of the circumstances before the man changed his mind about talking. Regretfully, Zack pulled up next to the guy and glared down hatefully at him.

"So talk."

The guy was still obviously not over the ordeal. He whimpered softly and Zack had the feeling that he wanted to cradle his wrist to his chest and just simper in his sorrows. "What do you want to know?" The man's voice was soft now, nothing like the strong defiance he had shown before.

"What's your name? Who do you work for? Why have you invaded the mansion?"

The guy cringed, as if the thought alone hurt him. "My name is Argus." Zack rolled his eyes. What was it with everyone needing a silly nickname to go with their mutation? It really was an absurd practice. And the adults! Of all people, they were the worst! Each of them chose a name for themselves and passed on the example to the kids. It was ridiculous. "And I work for the Mutant Champions."

Zack raised an eyebrow. "Oh yeah? Mutant Champions huh? Well then, why attack the mansion? You had to know that we're mutants too."

Argus swallowed thickly. "We do. The mansion is of specific importance to us."

Zack shook him by the shoulders slightly to rattle him. "Why?"

Argus' eyes lolled for a minute until the shaking stopped. "Specifically, we want Rogue's cooperation with us."

Zack connected the dots quickly. "So you're taking the mansion hostage to ensure her cooperation." Zack squinted. "Why do you want Rogue to help you? It seems like you can do anything yourself with that kind of force you pulled on the mansion."

Zack wasn't very familiar with Rogue, but he had heard a lot of rumors. Especially when she had first joined as a student. Other students said she had a 'poisonous touch', whatever that meant. In a mutant mansion, it was probably meant to be taken literally. Zack knew that she had once inadvertently used her mutation against Logan and nearly killed him, but he didn't know anything specific about her. He'd seen her a few times, yes, but they'd never even been introduced. Rogue was a constant point of discussion for the kids and they seemed to be fascinated—obsessed even—with her mutation and her character. They were always analyzing her. Zack kind of felt bad for all the rumors that were always spread about her, but he still didn't know her.

"We want Rogue to lead us."

Zack's forehead crinkled with wrinkles that didn't really exist as he tried to grasp that. "You want…why? That seems a bit ridiculous. Why not simply choose someone in your clan to lead you than to force someone who doesn't want to join."

Argus' eyes glazed over at the thought. "She has immense power and we're going to help her master and obtain more. You don't know what our visionary has seen. She is going to lead us to Supremacy. We're going to dominate the human race with her help. She will be unbeatable."

"Right…" Zack could see that Argus truly believed what he was saying and that he was deeply into it. He wouldn't waste time trying to crush the man's views. After all, it was really a stupid plan and Zack could see that only just after hearing about it. If Rogue was all so powerful and unstoppable, what made them think that they would be able to control her at all? Zack snapped his fingers in front of Argus' face to grab his attention again. "Before you said that was your specific purpose for invading the mansion. Is there any other reason, or are you just trying to royally piss off the X-Men?"

Argus stared at him as if he were dimwitted. "Obviously we want the X-Men to join our efforts."

Zack replied sarcastically. "Oh, obviously. The best way to ask for help is to terrify and invade the X-Men's base and put the kids in danger."

Argus shook his head at Zack in amazement. "You don't get it."

"Get what?"

"We don't _care_ if your help is optional or forced. Do you have any idea what kind of sway Xavier had in the government?" He shook his head dismissively as if Zack weren't wise enough to comprehend it. "With the mansion under our rule, we will control Ororo entirely. We will make her do anything we want. With her on our side, the school is on our side and so is the school's voice in government. Added to our own people already in place, we are set." He chuckled softly to himself. "Can you imagine, with Ororo's influence with someone, per instance, say Hank McCoy, Secretary of Defense in Mutant Affairs in the White House. With a backing like that, do you know how many lives we can reach and change? This is bigger than you know, bigger than just you or me. We're out for the good of us all."

Zack was quickly learning that this little invasion branched out much farther than he had first thought. They were planning to use the government, for heaven's sakes! More questions than ever were emerging from this little discussion. "Ororo's not going to use resources to help terrorists."

"Who says she's going to be under her own mind to make choices?" The mere thought seemed to make Argus delirious with joy. "All of it is coming together so perfectly. Suddenly, Argus' black eyes narrowed at him. "We're not terrorists."

"Just what are the Mutant Champions trying to do anyway?!" Zack asked, earnestly concerned where this was going. It had already been blown way out of proportion. This way far beyond levels he had thought possible.

Argus gave him that you're-an-idiot look. "Mutants everywhere—at least in the US, until we branch out to the rest of the world—but everywhere, we're finally going to be free and have the superiority we've always deserved."

Zack had many more questions for the man, but at the moment, he didn't think he could take any more in. Without another word, Zack stood and went over to Rahne's side. She was still lying down in the dirt with her eyes closed. With all the excitement from Argus, Zack had almost entirely forgotten about her. Now though, Zack focused his attention on the girl.

"Hey, Rahne. Are you alright?"

Rahne didn't respond. A little nervous about it, Zack lifted her shoulder off the ground and Rahne's eyes snapped open as she pushed away from him with both arms. Her eyes were unfocused and glazed. "Rahne—it's me!" Zack grabbed her shoulders more forcefully until Rahne stopped struggling and her glassy eyes somewhat focused on him. "Rahne, tell me what's wrong."

A tear slid down Rahne's left eye and she turned away from him. Her eyes landed on Argus' wrist and she stared at the puncture wounds she had left there. Zack followed her gaze, but he still didn't understand what was bothering her. Silently, Zack scooped her up into his arms and trotted away a dozen feet in the other direction from Sam. He laid her down in a pile of leaves and kneeled next to her. "Tell me what's wrong, Rahne."

Rahne took a minute to respond. "I can still taste it." She finally said. Before Zack could form the question, she went on. "His blood in my mouth." She confessed. "Salty and coppery. Metallic and warm…" Rahne curled up into herself so that she lie on her side in the fetal position and gently rocked back and forth. "I smelled his fear. It-it was like an adrenaline rush. I couldn't stop myself from biting him."

Zack scooted around so that he was in front of her again and he wiped a tear from her face. If anything, this was showing him that Rahne wasn't as fierce as she put herself out to be. She wasn't as hard. And her quick temper was a defense mechanism, but Zack didn't know against what. "Your mutation's tricky, Rahne. Controlling that part of you is bound to be—"

She cut him off. "You don't understand." Her voice was hoarse and forced. "Zack—I wanted to bite him. The blood, it…" She hesitated. "it…it tasted good." More tears fell and Rahne closed her eyes, unable to look at him. Zack took her up into his lap as she sobbed. "I didn't want to stop. I wanted to rip his throat out."

"Shhh." Zack attempted to calm her. "You didn't, Rahne. That's what's important. You stopped yourself." They sat there for a few moments as Rahne cried in his lap. Zack tried to soothe her by mumbling sweet nothings as Rahne fought to forget the rush she had gotten from biting Argus. After a time, Rahne stopped crying and wiped her cheeks of the evidence.

"We should check on Sam and the others." She said importantly, standing to her full height. Zack didn't question this change of attitude. Rahne was putting up her defenses again and showing the world a cold, hard persona. He understood her desire to hide her emotions.

He stood up behind her. "Yeah, we probably should." Zack held a new understanding of Rahne and his heart was gentle to it. The poor girl…

Together, they returned to the group.

---

**The sight of Logan and Rogue embracing warmed her to her very center. ** Even as she had been planning it for the last few months, Mystique never would have it working out this way. Rogue didn't despise her—and she was working on trusting her as well. She had chosen Mystique over the X-Men a couple of times now and the thought made Mystique smile. On top of that, Logan was her father—Mystique couldn't have chosen a better daughter for him if she tried. Logan loved Rogue as if she were his own child—even before figuring out that that was the truth. And to top it all off, Logan loved _her_. He hadn't had any hesitancy accepting his long-gone memories and she loved him for it. Everything was going to work out. Mystique hadn't even hoped to imagine a situation like this. It was like a dream.

Mystique glanced over behind her hugging husband and daughter. Erik stood there with his son, Pietro at his side. Mystique's eyes narrowed dangerously. Her gaze locked on Erik who stood not ten feet in front of her. He was crying and watching Rogue with a wistful longing in his eyes that made her all the more possessive of her daughter. Mystique's jaw clenched in undisguised hatred.

She made to step forward and confront him, but was stopped by a firm hand on her shoulder. Remy stood just behind her and he gave her a meaningful look with those deep red-on-black eyes of his. "Mystique." His tone was warning, patronizing even.

Mystique wrenched her shoulder from his grip and glared at him, but Remy didn't back down. "Don' ruin de moment, Mystique." His tone was so haughty, so…knowing. Mystique's eyes narrowed into slits. "Dey weren't fightin'." Remy gestured at Erik's tears. "Don' start one." Mystique gnashed her teeth together. She hated Erik. He deserved the worst of hells for what he had done to her. If she could just… "No." Remy cut off her thoughts. "If y' won't be rational, let Remy be de first t' point out dat de metallic man controls Logan entirely if he wants t'. An' is Remy de only one dat notices de buildin' is entirely made o' metal? Not t' mention Speedy dere is faster dan any o' us." Remy shook his head. "Even if he was attackin', we got no chance here."

Mystique cast another hateful glare at Erik that he didn't even notice. He was too busy watching Rogue, Mystique realized. What had caught his fascination so? She would beat it out of him—she would rip him to pieces, if only-Remy grabbed her arm and started steering her out. "Come den, kiddies." He called out, addressing Logan and Rogue. "Time t' go t' de mansion."

When Remy had pushed Mystique all the way out the door and glanced up, he froze. The entrance to Magneto's hideout was surrounded with mutants. At least, Remy was assuming they were all mutants. Some had obvious manifestations, but with others, he wouldn't be able to tell until they attacked. And attack they would—it seemed. They had formed a half circle around the entrance and were poised to attack.

"Remy don' suppose dat dis is de welcomin' committee fo' love an' friendship, eh?" One of the mutants spat at Remy and it landed a few feet in front of him on the pavement. The pavement started to sizzle and break down until there was a small hole in the asphalt. Remy raised an eyebrow in speculation. "Remy take dat as a 'no'."

Behind them, Logan and Rogue pulled up short. "Well damn." Rogue lifted her chin at the mutants. "Ah don' suppose they're here to congratulate us, do ya?" Logan reached out and grabbed the front of her shirt before shoving her back. He grabbed the back of Remy's overcoat with his other hand and pulled him back too.

"Come on!" They all quickly retreated back into the base and Logan called out. "Magneto?!" Whether it was accusingly or asking for help, Rogue couldn't tell, but it broke Erik out of his trance and the metal door that had been sliced up rose again and melded together with the metal frame to create a wall of steel between them.

"Better get ready." Logan's claws came out with a familiar _snick._ "'Cause that ain't gunna hold 'em for long."

It wasn't but a second after his comment that the ground started shaking.

---

"**Which way did they go? Over."** Kitty spoke into her earpiece and stopped for a moment to listen to the response.

"Go right on Sicamore Street and head down into Knight's Court."

Kitty chuckled. "Knight's Court—how cool would it be to live on a street named 'Knight's Court.'"

Peter lifted an eyebrow at her and Kitty slugged him in the arm. "Oh, you're no fun. Come on, this way." Kitty grabbed his wrist again and turned down Sicamore Street. Ororo was flying overhead and tracing John's progress with that girl Tabitha. She relayed the messages via the headset that Kitty wore and Kitty and Peter were following discretely through the sides of buildings. They were tracking the two back to Magneto's lair.

Kitty tugged on Peter's arm. "So go on, you still haven't answered my question."

"Which one?" Peter asked fondly, grinning down at her. It was a little intimidating that he was so much bigger and taller than her. Honestly, his arm muscle was the size of her entire leg. The man _really _worked his body.

"Oh, you know—lion or Wolverine, who would win?"

Peter shook his head dismissively. "Wolverine would shred the lion to pieces. Too easy."

"Oh yeah big guy? Why don't you think of one?" Kitty challenged.

"Okay." Peter took a moment to consider. "Sparks or Jubilee?"

Kitty wore a considering face. "Ohh—that is a good one. There powers are almost the same you know, hmm." She weighed out the options. "Sparks had more bloodlust, but Jubilee's obviously more trained." She thought about it for a moment longer. "I think Jubes would come out the winner—simply because she'd _want_ to hurt Sparks more."

"You think so?" Peter speculated.

Kitty nodded. "Yeah, she's older and has too much experience on him anyway. Okay, so --Cannonball or Husk?"

Peter grinned. "Why would Cannonball and Husk be fighting? Physically, I mean."

Kitty pursed her lips. "That's true. Hmm-well, for hypothetical's sake."

"Husk, definitely. Cannonball would never be able to hurt his sister—besides, that girl's got massive power. She's just so shy about it."

Kitty shrugged. "That can happen when your power causes your clothes to disintegrate when you use it. A girl gets shy." Kitty phased them through the side of a house and Peter found himself in the kitchen of a quaint home. A family of four were seated around the table and the teenage girl's eyes bulged at their intrusion.

"Oh my God!" She leapt up from her seat and pointed, wide-eyed at Kitty and Peter. "How did you--"

Kitty waved at her politely, speed walking through the kitchen. "Sorry for the interruption." Before anything else could be said, they both stepped through the wall into another room in the house. A bedroom, by the looks of it. Kitty hurried forward and stepped through another wall, faithfully dragging Peter behind her. They stepped out again into fresh air and Peter raised an eyebrow at Kitty.

"That was interesting. Perhaps we shouldn't be walking through people's homes."

Kitty waved him off with her free hand. "It's much quicker this way."

"Yes, but—" Peter quieted as he realized they were walking through another home. Thankfully, it was empty. Kitty strode on through as if she owned the place. "Kitty—you can't just walk through people's homes!"

"Shhh." Kitty quieted him, listening into her earpiece. "Storm says to stop—John and Tabitha have stopped." Kitty squinted her eyes. "Umm, I think we've found their base."

"Really?" Peter asked. "Wher—" He cut himself off as he followed Kitty's gaze to a big chained up warehouse in the distance. It was pretty far away. Even with his good eyesight, Peter could barely make out the building from his vantage point. "Well, what're we standing around for?"

Kitty was listening to the headset and she frowned. "The warehouse is surrounded by mutants." She conveyed. Kitty grabbed his wrist again as her frown deepened. "Come on, we need a closer look." They started sprinting. The rest of the way was level ground and the houses had stopped being built around the area. There was just the big warehouse. As they got closer, Peter could make out a chainlink fence that surrounded the perimeter of the building. There were dozens of figures outside the building. "Mag's place is under attack." Kitty informed him.

"By who?" Peter asked, bewildered. There were so many people outside in the front, he knew it couldn't be their team or Logan. So who was it?

Kitty glanced back at him. "Storm doesn't know—lot's of mutants though." They ran a short distance further then Kitty pulled up short. "Stop." Kitty glanced around to see if they could find any sort of cover. The area surrounding them was completely open field. She pursed her lips in thought until she saw two sidelong figures dash around the right side of the building. "Come on." She urged Peter. "Stop puttzing around."

Peter rolled his eyes as they took off again. They made a wide arc around the front so they wouldn't draw attention, but nobody was looking their way anyway. Kitty suddenly stumbled as the ground under their feet started to quake. Peter held out his hands and steadied her by the shoulders. When she looked back up at him to thank him, he was entirely encased in metal. Peter nodded at her solemnly. "Let's go."

They made their way around to the right side of the building where John and Tabitha were stacking wooden crates up against the side of the wall to build up to the window. The crates were huge and very immovable. Easily the length of Kitty herself, they weren't having much success. The two turned around quickly when they heard Peter's heavy footsteps and immediately went on the offensive.

John flicked out his lighter and lit a flame while Tabitha rubbed her fingers together and several shiny marbles of light emerged. "Hey!" Kitty protested in a hushed whisper. "We're not here to fight!" She held up her hands in a I-surrender motion.

Peter nodded at the heavy crates they were attempting to move. "Need a hand?"

Tabitha glanced at John uncertainly and John waved her down. He gave them both a hard look. It was obvious they needed Peter's help, but John wasn't happy about it. "Don't try anything funny."

Peter nodded agreeably and walked up to them. He picked up the huge crate they'd been struggling to lift and placed it against the side of the wall. "What's going on in there?" He asked.

John shrugged. "Beats me. We just got back here and found out the place was under siege."

Peter began to lift another crate to stack on top of the one he'd already put down. "Does Storm know anything?" He asked Kitty.

Kitty shook her head. "She must have dropped her earpiece. I haven't gotten anything for the last four minutes."

Tabitha rolled her eyes. "Dropped her earpiece. Riiight."

Kitty scowled at the girl as Peter went for a third crate. This one he set down in front of the first two. There was just one crate left. Carefully balancing it in one arm, Peter climbed on top of the bottom floor crate and hefted the one in his hands up on top of the first two.

"It is a warzone out there." John pointed out.

Kitty started to climb up the mountain of crates. Once she got a rhythm down, it was easy. She stuck her foot half into the box and then solidified the bottom of her foot so she could climb up the side of the crate as if it were a ladder. She did the same with her fingers and pawed her way up the crates as if she were a spider-girl.

Peter glanced down at John and Tabitha. He reached a hand down and grasped Tabitha's forearm. He hefted her up the first crate then eyed the other two she had to get up. "Here, I'll give you a boost." Peter clasped his hands together and Tabitha stepped into his palms. "Careful." He warned her. Tabitha nodded for him to go and Peter hefted her up into the air. He raised her high above his own shoulders and leaned close to the crates on the wall so that she could grab hold and heave herself up. Kitty helped pull her all the way up.

Peter went to help John up too, but John brushed him off. "I can get up myself, Muscle freak." John hoisted himself up the first crate then found a little ledge where the second one met the third and scrambled up that way.

Kitty glanced over the ledge at Peter. "You coming?"

Peter shook his head. "It might not hold my weight." He pointed out. Kitty nodded in understanding. "Tell me what you see." He added.

John had his hands up against the glass and was trying to listen in. "What're they doing?" He asked in bewilderment.

Tabitha frowned. "They're just…talking."

Indeed, she was right. The gathering of mutants had circled around the entrance and melted down the door. Now they surrounded the heroes in the middle and one mutant had stepped forward in front of the others. Tabitha couldn't make out if it was a male or female from her vantage point, but everyone's attention seemed focused on them.

"I'd kill to hear what they were sayin'." Tabitha commented wryly.

John made to elbow in the window, but Kitty caught him before he could go through with the action. "You'll make too much noise." She advised. "Scoot over."

Growling, John obeyed and Kitty squeezed in front. "Give me a small lift." She told John.

"What do I look like, you're dog, like the metal toy?"

Kitty rolled her eyes. "Do you want to hear what they're saying or not?"

John cursed under his breath then strained let Kitty climb onto his back. She wobbled precariously for a moment, causing Peter to call, "Careful!" before she found her footing and leaned towards the window. She slid her fingers through the glass and then popped the latch open from the inside. The window popped open with a little _click_ and voices below suddenly became clear. Kitty's eyes widened in shock as she listened in to the conversation.


	26. Trade

**The rumbling stopped and Rogue quickly found her way to her feet again as everyone around her followed suit.**

"Wan—" Erik shook his head. "Rogue, get back!"

Logan shot Erik a look before he nodded his head behind Erik. "Go, Rogue."

"But—"

"Now!" Logan demanded. Rogue still made no move to go and Logan turned his head to Remy. "Take her!"

Remy nodded and turned from the door. Rogue made to get past him, but Remy took out her legs from under her with a wide, sweeping kick and caught her cradle-style before she could hit the ground. "Sorry, _chere. _Time t' go." He started hightailing for the door at the far end of the warehouse.

Behind him, the metal-reinforced wall that Magneto had built literally started to melt. Molten metal burned away in chunks and began to puddle at the ground. Logan made to step forward to greet their intruders, but Magneto's eyes narrowed as he lifted his hands. The hot metal shot back outside and the metal from the surrounding wall thinned as it extended to cover the gap. Shouts and screams were heard echoing from the other side of the wall, presumably the mutants who had been close enough had just gotten scorched with the molten metal.

"Enough!" A deep voice commanded.

Erik turned his head and shouted. "Juggernaut, Petra, and Longshot!" It took a moment, but Juggernaut clambered forward from a top balcony and leapt down. The ground jolted slightly and cracks appeared in the cement, but Erik paid them no heed. "Where's Longshot and Petra?" Erik asked irritably.

"Went out on a date."

"Lucky to be missin' this." Logan snorted. Suddenly metal started screeching as metal tore off the wall. "Magneto?!" Logan shouted.

Magneto was already groaning with effort to keep the wall in place. Sweat beaded his forehead as he struggled against what pulled the metal. He was holding it up well, but two little holes had started to form in the wall and they were widening quickly. Magneto grunted with effort as the holes started to grow exceptionally wide. "Something's eating the metal!" He shouted, sweat still pouring from his brow as he struggled to keep the disintegrating wall in place.

A blue glob of energy poured through the entrance and homed in to Erik's chest. It stuck him solidly and Erik was thrown backwards. His body spastically writhed on the floor and his hold on the wall dropped entirely. The wall was ripped back entirely and mutants poured through by the dozens. One particularly tall man with jet black hair that was slicked back stepped up further than the others and Juggernaut charged him. Juggernaut pulled back a fist and slammed it into the blue eyed man's face with such force that should have instantly killed the mutant. Instead, the man's face bent back with the blow and absorbed the attack into himself.

The man smiled wickedly then grabbed Juggernaut's arm—the only part of him that he could partially wrap his hand against—and completely flipped the bigger mutant over his back with as much force that Juggernaut had just put into his own attack. Juggernaut slammed against the ground and cement cracked, making a huge, eight foot creator around him. He ripped off Juggernaut's helmet and slammed a fist into his face. Juggernaut jerked once then fell still. He wiped off his hand then turned to the rest of them.

Logan was about to charge him when the guy held up a hand dismissively as Erik fought his way to his feet. "Please—don't even try to attack. Nothing you can do will hurt me, I'll only absorb it. Besides, I am not here to fight."

"Wonder where we got that misconception." Mystique snarled. She launched forward with a high kick, but the man knocked her foot aside and grabbed her by the throat. He looked over at Logan and held Mystique above the ground by her throat threateningly.

"Don't move. I could snap her neck in an instant." Logan halted, his eyes flashing with hatred. "Now, listen please." The man threw Mystique towards Logan and she collided into him like a ragdoll. Logan helped keep her upright as the man stared them all down.

"My name is Sebastian Shaw. I am the humble leader of the Mutant Champions." He gestured behind him. "These are some of my associates; I think you'll get to know them well."

Logan's eyes were slits and he growled lowly. "What do you want?"

"Not one for pleasantries, are you?" Shaw shook his head dismissively. "I've come to speak to Rogue."

"That's never gunna happen, bub!" Logan snarled, making to leap at Shaw.

Shaw shook his head at him. "You'll do nothing, but strengthen me by attacking. Please, I know you have this 'protection complex' over your daughter—as all father's should—but we all know how this will play out. You can make all the threats and such as the girl's protector, but you would not be able to beat me, let alone my followers. Let's save some steps in this 'beat the villains' scene and just get to the end. I don't want to hurt Rogue, or any of you, but I have no problem killing you all to get to her."

"You'll never touch her."

Shaw smiled softly. "And I do not want to—not yet, at least. As I hear, touching her is very dangerous to a person's health."

"Pietro, go." Erik whispered to his son. Pietro glanced at the scene and hesitated. He didn't want anything to happen to his father while he was gone. These mutants were obviously powerful and willing to kill. Erik gave him a desperate look with his eyes and Pietro turned to skedaddle. He started to zip across warehouse, but halfway to the door his feet lifted off the ground and he found himself running on air, not moving anywhere.

Shaw glanced behind him. "Thank you, Tethy." Shaw grinned ruefully and faced them again. "Now, please, I'm trying to be considerate, but since you all insist on being so rude." He tilted his head to the side, as if receiving a message from somebody. "Ahh, yes." There was a scream from the back of the warehouse.

---

**Remy clutched Rogue tightly to his chest. **"Remy!" Rogue protested. "Let me go!"

Remy smiled softly, but didn't even so much as loosen his grip. "Y' always made a _belle_ damsel in distress."

"Remy, if ya don't turn around raght now—"

Remy's soft smile blossomed into a full out grin. "What're y' gunna do, _chere_? Kiss me again?" Rogue growled lowly at him in the back of her throat. "Well in dat case, kiss away Roguey, 'cause Remy's not stoppin', especially now dat he knows y'll reward him."

Rogue's mind raced at his friendly jibes. She remembered kissing Remy in her mind not but a day ago and she longed for that simplicity again. At least in her mind she knew what was going on and where she was. She had been in charge there. Reality was so much harder. She wished she had time to talk to Remy. Now was hardly the place, but Rogue vowed she'd bring it up with him when she got the chance.

"We can't jus' leave them there." Rogue pleaded reasonably.

Remy's expression turned serious. "_Je suis désolé, fille._ Remy knows how y' feel, but we gotta get y' outa here."

"Ah'm not jus' some _damsel _who can't defend herself!"

A distinct, British accent broke through the air. "No, you most certainly are not." Rogue heard the clear cut British accent just a second before a glittering, transparent sword cut through the air towards Remy's head.

Remy dodged out of the way and hugged Rogue even tighter to his chest as he jumped forward and did a summersault through the air that landed him feet first pointed at the intruder's chest. He kicked out and landed both feet against her chest as they too, were propelled backwards. Remy's back hit the floor and he slid several feet before coming to a stop.

Rogue was amazed at Remy's acrobats, but the time for carrying her across the boarder was over. "Let go!" She grabbed Remy's hand and threw it off. Surprisingly, Remy didn't stop his hand and his whole arm yanked as it collided with the wall and smashed through. Rogue's eyes widened in surprise. "Remy?"

"Ow, _chere._ When did y' become de hulk?" Remy wrenched his hand out of the wall and Rogue saw that his knuckles were white and bleeding.

"Oh my gawd, are ya okay Remy? Ah'm sorry!" Rogue went over to help him, but Remy's gaze landed on something behind her.

"Behind y', Rogue!"

Without looking, Rogue swung back a fist and connected solidly with a face. She heard bones crunching under the blow. The person squeaked and fell back, clutching his nose which was rapidly bleeding. Rogue spun around and kicked the side of his head. The man went unconscious on the floor and Rogue lifted her gaze to their first attacker.

"Elizabeth?" Rogue asked in confusion. "What--?"

_There is no time for this! I am under surveillance, Rogue. Continue to fight me._ The accent running through her mind was unmistakably Elizabeth's. Elizabeth's words ran through her mind and took a second to register. From behind her, Remy charged six cards and flung them through the air at Elizabeth. His throws were oddly off and sloppy though and Elizabeth dodged every one. _I am speaking to him too. _Elizabeth clarified as she jumped in to grab Rogue. _They are going to catch you, Rogue. You cannot escape that. Let me be the one to capture you. It will do a great deal to earn their trust in me._

Rogue backhanded the woman in front of her and Elizabeth flew into the wall at her right. Rogue winced slightly. _How do Ah know ya don't really work fohr them? _

_I'm asking you to trust me._ Elizabeth was now closer to Remy than she was to her and as she swung her hands through the air towards him, another glittering pink blade manifested. From what she had seen earlier, Rogue thought Remy could easily have dodged it if he wanted to. But he didn't. He made an attempt to, but the blade still passed through his skull and into his head. Remy's eyes rolled up into the back of his head and he passed out on the ground.

Rogue screamed in frustration. Remy seemed to trust Elizabeth's word, but what if he was wrong? What if Elizabeth was just really on the other team, playing for both sides? Rogue barreled towards the woman, her heart thudding loudly in her chest. If she made the wrong choice here…

Elizabeth spun around to meet her and her fists connected solidly with Rogue's jaw. Rogue barely felt the blow at all and it didn't even phase her. Seemingly aware of this, Elizabeth ducked out from under her in the last second and somersaulted over to Remy's prone, unconscious body. Rogue didn't stop quickly enough before she met the wall and plaster crumbled under her weight as Rogue fell fully through the wall. _Just what the hell is goin' on._ Rogue thought to herself. She should have long ago lost Carol's powers. She never had been able to simply _use_ another mutant's powers without directly focusing and channeling them before.

When Rogue found her feet again, Elizabeth was holding Remy's limp form against herself and she had a pistol cocked and pointed at the side of his head. "No more fighting, Rogue." Elizabeth spoke while simultaneously whispering through her mind. _You need to follow me to the front._ "Follow me and nobody gets hurt."_ They're not going to hurt you or any of your friends—they'll use them as hostages._ "We just want to talk to you."_ Just come peacefully._ "This way." _Trust me._

Rogue swallowed the lump in her throat as she observed the cocked gun pointed at Remy's head. Elizabeth began to back up through the same way that Rogue and Remy had come. She kept a trained, steady gaze on Rogue and her eyes were full of meaning and intent. She didn't connect to Rogue again telepathically as they slowly made their way back through the door to the front of the warehouse again. Once they had left the hallway, Rogue's eyes focused upon the sight before her as her throat constricted.

Logan's throat was clutched tightly between a man's fingers as he held Logan's feet above ground. Most surprising to Rogue of all was the fact that Logan wasn't fighting him at all. There were about twenty different moves he could make to hurt the man and break contact, but he just hung there limply, still conscious and watching her warily. Behind him, Erik was sputtering as blue sparks danced around his chest. It looked as if he were trying to fight whatever had grabbed hold of him, but he was unable to. The most he had accomplished was getting to his feet and trying to hold his dignity.

Pietro was levitating several feet above the ground and it took Rogue a moment to realize the significance of that. _He can't run._ Rogue realized with a shiver. Mystique was the only one not held or bound in place, at least by anything Rogue could see. She stood a good seven feet from the man who held Logan in his grasp, but she didn't move to try to attack. And then, at last, there was a huge unconscious mutant sprawled across the floor behind the man who held Logan. Beyond that, dozens of mutants waited and watched eagerly as she approached.

"Betsy!" The man called gleefully, not even straining to hold Logan up. Rogue knew that holding Logan off the ground was no easy feet. His adamantium skeleton itself weighed well over a hundred pounds. "I see that you've brought me Rogue and Remy! Why thank you! Where is Thunderbird?"

"Unconscious, back there." Elizabeth indicated with her head the direction.

Shaw nodded. "Good thing I sent you back there, then." He smiled, pleased with her success. "You may drop Mr. LeBeau now. There's no need for hostilities." Shaw also dropped Logan. Logan scrambled back from him and stood by Rogue's side protectively. Mystique joined him on her other side. "You make a fine family." Shaw smiled graciously. "All so very protective of one another." Rogue glanced back and saw that Pietro had been dropped to the ground again and Magneto had stopped sputtering. The little blue sparks disintegrated from around him as well. Apparently this group was very confident in themselves.

"What do ya want?" Rogue asked darkly. She took a step forward and grabbed Remy's unconscious body before picking him up and hauling him back.

"Oh, how rude of me." Shaw took another step forward, closer to her. "My name is Sebastian Shaw and I am current leader of the Mutant Champions."

"Hurrah for you." Rogue sneered.

Shaw chuckled. "Quite an attitude on you, Rogue. It will suit you well for our purposes."

"Which is?"

"We want you, Rogue, to head our cause and become our leader."

Rogue squinted at him, sure she hadn't heard right. It was Logan who voiced the first question. "You want what?"

Shaw tilted his head at him. "Logan, I hear you have very good hearing. You did not hear me wrong, then. I want Rogue to step up and lead us."

Rogue blinked. "Okay…who else is havin' hallucinations?"  
Shaw laughed again and stepped up closer to Rogue. "You are amusing, little one." He extended out his arm. "Please, follow me."

Rogue glanced down at his arm then gave him a hard, long stare. "Jus' what do ya think ya tryin' to play at?"

Shaw's expression was one of infinite patience. "Let me explain, Rogue, then maybe you will see your path." He gestured widely with his hands. "You are the epitome of mutants and have the ability to possess infinite power. We need someone like that to lead our cause—the cause of raising the mutants to their rightful level. I am the one who brought us all together and have thus led us this far, yes, but I've always known there has been stronger mutants out there than myself. Our quest was to find the mightiest, the one who, with careful training, would never be able to be defeated."

Rogue arched an eyebrow. "And that search ended on meh?"

"You underestimate yourself, girl. You have infinite capabilities. We want to hone your talents, give you more, and let you lead us to victory. Mutants will rise over humanity and take their rightful places as rulers of this world. We want you to help us achieve that."

Rogue glanced around at the people alongside her and pulled Remy in closer to her chest. "Yeah, um, thanks fohr considering meh an' everything…and for nearly killing all of mah friends, but Ah'm not interested."

"We would never have killed your allies." Shaw continued, not deterred by her words at all. "In fact, we seek the X-Men's help as well and I know I have common goals with Erik. Perhaps he should want to join as well."

Erik's jaw clenched. "I do not hold those ideals any longer, Shaw. And you are foolish to consider them as well. Did you not observe what happened at Alcatraz? The world is ruled by humanity. However upsetting that is, mutants are not large enough in number or accepted enough to overcome that. Time is the only thing that will ease us into the mainstream."

Shaw looked surprised at Erik's words. His forehead creased slightly. "I wonder how much you truly believe those words, Magneto." He paused, then continued. "And how much of that nice little speech you just gave is from recent tragic circumstance concerning your daughter."

Erik's fists clenched and metal flew from rafters towards Shaw, but another mutant behind Shaw waved her hands airily and it flew back at him. Magneto had to dodge to escape his own metallic missiles as they pelted themselves at him.

Shaw paid this no heed and turned his gaze back to Rogue, facing her squarely and seriously. "We would not offer you this position without rewards." Shaw offered. "We can give you anything you desire."

Rogue rolled her eyes. "Yeah, Ah doubt that. Thanks anyway, but no. Ya cahn leave now."

Shaw's eyes glittered. "We can give your friend Wanda her life back." Rogue froze at his words and Shaw's smile widened. It was deeply menovolent. He knew what effect such words would have on her.

"No you can't." Rogue's voice was quiet and raspy. Her eyes, although wide in shock, also held a tinge of fear and a great deal more anger.

"Resurrecting the dead would be otherwise impossible, but for one fact. You, Rogue, fully absorbed Wanda before she died, did you not?" He continued on without waiting for her answer. "That means that Wanda's essence is inside of you—all of it is. Her power is locked in your body as is her person. We have healers that can restore Wanda's body to its normal condition and mutations that will spark electricity back into her body and start her heart—once it is restored by our healers—to pumping condition again." He gestured back at the mutants behind him. "This is not an attack force against you. Some of these mutants have come to help me restore Wanda."

Rogue's heart was thumping wildly in her chest. "You're lyin'." She whispered. "Ya won't give meh anythin'. Even if…if ya could, you wouldn't until after Ah've 'led your party'. Ah won't fall into ya hands lihke that."

Shaw smiled generously. "Actually, I am willing to restore Wanda now. Provided that you agree to let us keep her until you've led us to our goals, I am willing to bring your friend back this instant."

_Oh mah god, oh mah god. It's not true…it's not…Wanda._

_Rogue,_ Wanda's familiar voice joined her thoughts. _It sounds like a trap. And even if they're not lying, you would essentially be indenturing yourself to their servitude, maybe for the rest of your life. You know how idealistic his rules and guidelines sound. He can't be trusted._

"Ah have no reason ta believe that what you're promisin' meh is true." Rogue protested. "So far, you've attacked mah friends, secretly conspired counsel against meh, and know way too much about mah life than ya should. If Ah asked ya to bring her back, the way ya say you can, that would mean allowin' ya access into mah mind—an' Ah certainly don't trust ya with that."

Shaw grinned. "Smart girl too, that will be very useful. We need someone resourceful. Everything you say is right: you're the only one seemingly at risk here. So, why don't we let Betsy temper with your psyches?" Elizabeth started. "Yes, she seems to like to play both sides of the field in this one. I can tell you, her intentions were honorable when she came to attack you and bring you to me." Elizabeth's eyes were wide with fear. Shaw chuckled. "Did you really think, Betsy, that we didn't know?" He shook his head dismissively and turned back to Rogue. "Would you allow Elizabeth to enter your thoughts and pull out Wanda's persona? She does honestly want to be on your side in this."

Rogue's throat constricted. So Elizabeth had been telling the truth when she tried to help her. Now the woman looked terrified, but she dared not move against Shaw or try to escape. She was smarter than that. And Shaw himself was a cunning mastermind. He was using Elizabeth, who had helped her and whom Rogue now trusted, as a key segment in Wanda's case.

_What if he's tellin' the truth…_ Rogue wondered. _What if he can bring you back?_

_Rogue._ Wanda's voice was deadly serious. _I do not want you to throw away your life in the mere hope of restoring mine. Think about what this guy is saying—it reeks of deception. If you allowed him to do this, you will be his slave. I forbid you from considering it._

But Rogue was indeed considering it. She had attacked at Shaw from all angles, trying to find a weakness, but he had covered every question she posed. Rogue looked back at the faces behind her. Logan's jaw was set tightly and Rogue could see that he didn't like or trust Shaw. Mystique was just behind him with a hand on his shoulder, though Rogue didn't really think she was holding him back or anything. Mystique's eyes showed clear fear. She understood what Shaw was offering her more than Logan did. Logan didn't know that it was her fault Wanda was dead.

Rogue's eyes traveled over to Pietro and Erik. Both were torn up with indecision. Rogue could see the fear and anxiety in their eyes, barely masking a glimmer of hope beneath the surface. This would mean the life of the blood relative to them, Wanda, who they both held dear and close to their hearts. At the same time, they had mourned for Wanda and, although they hadn't accepted her death yet, they were equally suspicious of Shaw as she was. The glimmer of hope was overshadowed with uncertainty and doubt. It did not seem as if they truly believed Wanda could be brought back.

Rogue tore her eyes away and thought for herself. She knew, inherently, that she would do _anything_ to restore Wanda. That was not the question here. She didn't think it could be done, but Shaw made convincing arguments. Was Wanda really altogether dead? She existed in Rogue's mind, could they just restore her body? Put her back in place and everything worked out? Rogue was terrified of the answer. In her heart, she already knew her choice.

Rogue's jaw jittered as she swallowed thickly. "Ah…" She cleared her throat and started over again, needing to sound strong and clear on this.

In her mind, Wanda started protesting and vying for control.

"Ah want ya to bring her back. Bring Wanda back and make her whole again."

Logan leapt forward from behind her. "Rogue, you can't—"

Rogue waved him down and focused her eyes on Shaw. "And Ah want ya to bring Carol back too."

A tick worked in Shaw's jaw. "We cannot bring Carol back."

Rogue's jaw clenched. "Then no deal."

Shaw breathed in and Rogue could see the patience in his face wavering. "I am not saying that we won't bring Carol back, Rogue, but we can't. Wanda's mutation is different from Carol's. That is what makes the difference." He continued, even as she began to protest. "Wanda's mutation fixes in probabilities. The only reason we can restore her soul is by fixing the probability that it returns—that process goes with restore her essence back into her body. Carol has a simple mutation in strength, flight, and endurance. It would not work if we tried to restore her."

Rogue took a moment to take that in then breathed out again deeply. _Ah'm so sorry, Carol._ Rogue apologized in her mind. "Then bring Wanda back." She directed. "And—" Shaw waited patiently. "Ya may not kill _any _of mah friends fohr _any_ reason. Ah want Wanda to receive the best care around the clock once she has been restored and ya'r promise that no harm will come to her."

Shaw waited a minute as if he expected her to continue, then he smiled. There was something dark and sinister in that smile that Rogue did not like at all. "Your terms are acceptable. I accept." His smile softened. "Now, where is the body?" He directed the question at Erik.

Erik was literally trembling. His whole body shook with the thought of his daughter being restored, but Rogue could still see the doubt in his eyes. Pietro was as white as a sheet. "She's…in the back." Erik's voice was softer than a child's whisper.

Shaw nodded to several people behind him to go get her, but Pietro shook his head. "I'll go." He zipped off and Shaw nodded again to his troops.

"Domino, Energizer, Inhalation, Electro, please step forward." He nodded to Elizabeth. "You, too." By the time all four mutants had come forth, Pietro was back with the broken, white body of Wanda in his arms. The sight of Wanda so beaten and thrashed sickened Rogue and she had to turn away.

Erik waved his arm and metal flew from the rafters and melded together to make a table. Pietro gently laid Wanda down on the table and stepped back as Shaw's followers came forward.

The one called Energizer approached her first. To Rogue's surprise, Energizer was just a little girl. No more than fourteen, she was a cute little blond with dazzling blue eyes that sparkled in the light. As she approached Wanda, her eyes misted over and became cloudy blue entirely. She held out a hand over Wanda's broken frame and a low, warm red light emitted from her fingers. To Rogue's utter astonishment, Wanda's bruised face began to heal. The dark black bruises disappeared under new peach, flawless skin.

Energizer held her hand over the broken parts of Wanda's body and, one part at a time, Wanda began to become whole again. Energizer spent a little more time around Wanda's ribcage than she had above and Rogue heard the snapping of bone as the rib grew back in place. Rogue was glad Wanda wasn't there for this part. She imagined the process was excruciating.

When Energizer reached Wanda's torn and shredded leg, she frowned slightly. Rogue was about to hurriedly ask what was wrong, but Energizer simply closed her eyes to focus on the crushed ligament. Rogue's eyes widened in shock as she observed Wanda's leg inflating as the muscle and bone were re-growing and knitting together. In a few moments, Wanda's leg was pristine again as if she hadn't even been crushed. Energizer moved to work on her second leg, which was much easier because it was so much less damaged than the first.

_Rogue please stop this. I can't let you throw away your life for me._ Wanda banged against the insides of her mind, fighting to gain control and call them off.

_Wanda stop. Ah won't go back on this, no matter what. Ah owe you mah life because Ah stole yours. It's an even trade._

_Rogue—_

Rogue chuckled softly to herself. _And you call meh the Dark Knight. Seems lihke your tryin' ta sacrifice a lot more than meh for mah safety. _Rogue paused before sobering. _Wanda, Ah need to do this. Ah need to give ya your life back. It wasn't mine to take. Please understand, this is what you deserve._

_Rogue, I…_ Wanda made a choking noise in the back of her throat.

_Ah know what Ah'm doin', Wanda. _

Wanda was silent. The pounding for control stopped.

_Thank you fohr understandin' Wanda._

_I don't understand any of it._ Wanda shook her head. _And I don't want to let you._

_That's not your choice to make._

Wanda's tone was solid. _I know._

Rogue smiled, trying to lighten the events. _Ah'll finally get ta talk to ya again. _

Before her, Inhalation just stepped back from breathing into Wanda and Electra shocked her chest. It reminded Rogue of the emergency table, when they used those two paddles to jolt someone to life again. Inhalation bent over Wanda again and breathed into her before stepping back and letting Electra shock her. Wanda's body spasmed and Rogue watched in amazement as her chest rose and fell rhythmically.

_It's really happenin'. _Rogue breathed in deeply before another chuckle escaped her slightly parted lips. _Ah'll see ya on the other sahde, Wanda._

_I hope so._

Electra and Inhalation stepped back from Wanda's breathing frame as Domino stepped up beside her and glanced at Elizabeth. Elizabeth took her place on the other side of Wanda's bed and motioned Rogue over. Rogue gave Remy to Logan and walked over, despite his protests and outreaching arms for her. Elizabeth looked Rogue up and down. "You're sure about this? Everything will be gone—her powers, her psyche, everything." Rogue nodded solemnly and Elizabeth lifted a hand to Rogue's forehead. Her fingers stopped just short of touching her. "This is going to hurt, Rogue." Rogue squeezed her eyes shut.

The pain hit.

It was like someone was trying to dig her organs out of her still living body with a chainsaw. Instantly, Rogue lost all awareness of her surroundings as a howling wind noise started roaring through her mind. Her body burned as if someone had just thrown her into an over. Rogue was sure she wasn't going to live through this experience. She forgot everything, what she was doing, where she was, what was happening. All that her brain could function on was the absolute agony that raced through her mind.

She could feel something being pulled away and extracted from her. Outside her closed eyelids, a light red glow was pulling out of her chest as Domino removed Wanda's powers from her body. Rogue's legs collapsed from under her and both Domino and Elizabeth's hands traced her progress down. Rogue was sobbing and screaming on the floor, writhing in agony, but neither let up in their efforts. The extraction continued.

A piece of herself was being taken away from her, Rogue was sure. She couldn't even bring herself to fight against the process because the pain crippled her, it was so great. Every passing moment felt like an eternity in hell. Rogue howled animalistically till her throat was raw and she could make no more noise. Pain laced through her veins and crawled through her body, numbing her to everything but the fiery sensation of agony. Rogue didn't know how much longer she could take it, but she prayed that her ending come quicker as she thrashed on the ground.

Suddenly, it all stopped. The howling wind in her ears ceased as the pain literally evaporated, leaving Rogue shaking and cold on the floor. She was vaguely aware of someone touching her and pulling her close, but she couldn't bring herself to open her eyes. It was too hard and it took all of Rogue's strength simply to remain conscious in that moment. Rogue struggled to breathe. Her throat was raw and felt as if fire had just raced through it. She couldn't move, but her body shivered none the less. She felt so cold…so incredibly cold. Rogue trembled.


	27. Trust

"**She's going to pass out if you don't do something! What'd you do to her?"** Logan's voice was angry and feral, his expression threatened death to anyone who answered him the wrong way.

"You should let her pass out." Elizabeth told him. "She needs to rest."

"She _needs_ to be left alone from you people." Logan roared, cradling Rogue close to his chest. On the table beside him, Wanda slept calmly as her chest rose and fell rhythmically. Logan didn't even spare her a glance, but Erik and Pietro were crowded over her, staring longingly. Each had grabbed a hand and swarmed at her sides.

Elizabeth walked over to Shaw who was straightening his suit importantly. "Shaw?"

Shaw looked up from his suit at her. "Oh, Betsy. Yes, thank you for your cooperation with this. I am very pleased with the trust you've gained from the girl today." Betsy bowed her head to him. "Thank you. Shaw, Ororo is outside. She wasn't captured at the mansion with the rest of them."

Logan was occupied, but not deaf. Careful to keep it from looking like he was listening, he began to rock Rogue in his arms and kissed her forehead protectively. Mystique leaned against him and grabbed Rogue's gloved hand. Remy's unconscious form lay on the ground several feet behind her.

"Is she now?"

Elizabeth nodded. "Do you want me to go fetch her?"

"Yes." Shaw smiled thinly. "Yes that would be excellent." Elizabeth turned to go, then Shaw held up a hand. "Oh, Betsy?"

Elizabeth paused.

"You're a very convincing actress."

"Thank you." Elizabeth murmured. He really had no idea just how good she was.

Shaw waited for Betsy to leave. When she was out of the building and clearly gone, Shade materialized at Shaw's side and trailed Betsy's path with his eyes. "A fine actress, indeed."

Shaw smiled. "Hello, Shade."

"How much longer until I can have my due?"

"Patience, Shade. Betsy has proven very valuable to me. As long as she continues to think that we think she's on our side, she can prove resourceful."

"She is a fool." Shade spat.

"Maybe so." Shaw allowed, inwardly shaking his head at the mutant beside him. How thick could one get? "But a clever fool who will continue to do my bidding to earn our 'trust' in her. I'm sure you can observe her speaking to Ororo right now, can you not?"

"I can hear her speak." Shade confirmed. "But I cannot tap into her mind messages. She is a danger to us, Shaw. She must be taken care of."

"Soon, Shade. You will get her to do as you please soon enough. Let me use her as a resource before you completely annihilate the girl." He waved a dismissive hand at Shade. "That's all you get for now. Thank you, Shade."

Shade made a guttural noise that could have been a growl before he returned to the group of mutants behind him. Shaw frowned to himself. He had thought Shade would last a little longer than this, but the boy's use was painfully short-lived. Shaw knew Shade would do anything to paint Elizabeth's guilt and he was running out of excuses for the mutant. It was tragic, but the boy was at the end of his rope. Shaw would have to dispose of him before he proved a threat to Elizabeth. He would do so later tonight, he told himself. Shade would have to go then. Shaw pondered for a moment who should get the liberty of Shade's despise. He would have greatly liked to let Elizabeth do it herself—there was such poetic justice in that, but he wouldn't risk her safety like that for simple revenge. Shaw shook his head to clear his thoughts and focus on the issue later.

The current situation warranted his attention.

Shaw stepped forward towards Logan and the unconscious Wanda. He gave the two awestruck mutants a moment longer before he intruded upon Pietro and Erik. "Excuse me, boys. I'm going to have to take her now." Erik's eyes locked with Pietro and Pietro instinctively grabbed Wanda. He had her in his arms and was carrying her away when his feet again lifted off the ground and he found himself running through empty air. Shaw sighed deeply. "Now that's not part of the deal." Magneto moved to jump him, but Shaw backhanded the old man easily and he fell to the ground unconscious.

Shaw stepped up to the boy and extracted Wanda from Pietro's tight grasp. He turned to his followers and gave her still form to Zip. Zip accepted without a word, already knowing what to do; she grabbed the unconscious Magneto's hand and promptly teleported out of the warehouse with Wanda and Erik. Pietro hit the floor with a thud moments later and stared at the spot where his father and sister had been. He seemed speechless.

Shaw refocused his attention back on Logan, Mystique, and Rogue. He pushed his way forward and grabbed Rogue's hand. "I'm sorry you two." He said genuinely. "It's time for her to go."

Logan's eyes were filled with loathing. He glanced down at the serene Rogue in his arms before quickly releasing his claws and slicing at Shaw. Once again, Shaw's skin simply bent in with the blow and absorbed the energy. Shaw's eyes narrowed at him. "Always trying to fight your way out with violence, aren't you Logan?" He shook his head. "We had a deal."

Shaw forcibly yanked Rogue out of Logan's grasp and held her up under her throat, completely covering his body with hers and using her as a shield. "Now, you can go now or I'll have my people collect you and Mystique up as hostages so that Rogue has some motivation in her work with us." He tilted his head. "It's your choice."

Logan wanted to rip the man's head off. He wasn't sure how he'd go about doing that since Shaw seemed to absorb every attack effortlessly, but he knew he would find a way. Logan had no intention of becoming a hostage to Shaw, or letting Mystique become one. If he stayed outside, he could fight to her another day when he had a chance. Glancing at the waiting mutants at the door, Logan knew it was futile to struggle right now.

His force fate ripped him up inside and he hated the fact that Shaw was going to walk away with his daughter, _his_ Marie. Still, Logan had good sense and knew he could not win right now. He had to let Shaw go and come back to fight another day. Logan's claws _snicked_ inside of his forearms once again. Shaw smiled condescendingly. "Good boy. The wolf can be trained after all."

Smugly, Shaw carried Rogue out of the warehouse and into the sunlight outside. Logan, Mystique, Pietro and Remy were all left behind.

---

**Elizabeth rounded the side of the building and found an amusing sight.** Storm was floating near the roof of the warehouse and peering through a window, obviously eavesdropping upon the event. Elizabeth smiled fondly at this, remembering a time long ago when she and Ororo had used to spy on certain members of the X-Men. It seemed so long ago…

Ororo turned, perhaps feeling a change in the wind patterns or instinctively feeling that she was not alone any longer. She saw Betsy from up high and she saw her smile. Ororo's eyes whitened.

_There's really no need for that, Ororo. _"Ororo!" She called up to the weather witch, fully aware that she was probably being observed. "So good to see you!" Elizabeth called up calmly. The weather around Ororo started to darken. _I want to help you, Ororo. I'm not on Shaw's side. _"I'd rather not fight you, if we could avoid that."

Ororo seemed aware that she was likely to be being watched too. _I don't trust you, Betsy._ "How dare you presume peace. I saw you inside, talking to Shaw! I know the games you play, Betsy." The skies were dark and threatening. Elizabeth wondered if Ororo was doing that for the show or if it was just her emotions clashing with the weather.

_I want to help you._ "I've come to inform you that the school has already been taken over, Ororo. Do not fight me, there might be accidents." _I can be your inside agent. They trust me. _

_How ironic. _Ororo thought darkly. Outwardly, her eyes returned to their normal color as the winds and clouds literally evaporated from the air. Ororo drifted down to Betsy's level. "What do you want, Betsy?"_ Why should I trust you?_

_Just put on a show of fighting me._ "You, Ororo." Elizabeth formed her translucent blade again and made to slash at Storm. Storm jumped back out of the way and her eyes went white again as wind rushed up behind her to meet her will._ I just needed you to know that the mansion's been captured. _The wind whipped up from the ground and slammed into Elizabeth so hard that she was thrown back against the side of the building. Elizabeth grunted in pain as the wind died enough to let her fall to the ground. _Shaw is looking to grab you and use you as a resource to more government connections—he already has plenty, but with Hank and a few choice others who listen to you on His side, he'd have a huge majority._

Storm made to kick Elizabeth in the face, but Elizabeth was too quick for her. She grabbed Storm's foot mid air and pushed her back before whirling to a stand herself and kicking the older mutant in the stomach. _Shaw will eventually catch you—and when he does, listen Ororo! _Storm was doubled over from her blow and Elizabeth went over to strike her again, but Storm bent low and took Elizabeth's legs out from under her.

Storm kicked her on the ground once, twice, before Elizabeth rolled out of the way. Her back hit the wall again and, before she could stand, Storm was at her side again, looming over her and pressing her boot down against Elizabeth's throat. _I need to be the one to gain access to your mind, Ororo. _Elizabeth started choking as Storm added pressure. _I need to be the one to take over you, when the time comes._

Storm's eyes narrowed in loathing. Elizabeth grabbed her leg with both hands and shoved the woman away. Storm was caught off balance for a moment before Elizabeth stood again and hauled back to land a punch against her jaw. Storm backtracked a few feet as Elizabeth rubbed her sore neck. _Now knock me out and be done with it! Shaw is approaching!_

Storm glared at her darkly and jumped into the air to deliver a flying roundhouse kick to Elizabeth's head. The blow struck just below her temple and Elizabeth tripped back as black spots danced before her vision. Storm landed next to her when she fell again and her eyes shone pure distrust. Without a word, Storm pulled back a fist and struck Elizabeth squarely in the jaw. Elizabeth's head bounced back against the warehouse wall and her mind went blank as her surroundings disappeared around her.

Storm watched Elizabeth for only a few seconds before voices erupted not far from the front of the warehouse. Knowing that she had only a few seconds before the cavalry showed up, Storm used the wind currents to float herself up to the roof of the building, leaving Elizabeth far below.

---

"—**you, Rogue, to head our cause and be our leader."** Kitty squinted, sure she couldn't be hearing the man's words right.

"What the hell is he talking about? Did I hear him right?"

John looked incredulous too. "That wasn't just me?"

Tabitha glared at both of them. "Shh! We're missing it!" She admonished. Kitty and John quickly quieted to hear the black-haired man's next words.

"You did not hear me wrong, then. I want Rogue to step up and lead us."

Kitty's eyes widened in shock. "We didn't hear him wrong!"

John glanced at the imposing guy. "Yeah, that was kind of freaky. You don't think he can hear us, do you?"

Tabitha rolled her eyes at them both and hit John in the arm. "Would you both shut up? I'm trying to listen here!"

Kitty gave her a demeaning look. "What do you even care?"

"My boss is down there too, you know! How am I supposed to get paid if he ends up getting killed and I miss all the action while you two chatter about stupidity?!"

Kitty rolled her eyes at the same time John shook his head dismissively. "Wow, I'm sure Magneto appreciates your concern." Kitty threw off sarcastically. "But he's more than capable of holding his own. He doesn't become a mutant terrorist by pure dreaming, you know?"

"Actually, I've been wondering about his sanity lately." John put in. "Ever since Alcatraz he's…well, he's really been a wimp, to tell you the truth."

"What?" Kitty raised an eyebrow suspiciously.

"Would you two shut up?" Tabitha yelled in a hushed whisper. Kitty's eyes returned to the window.

"Right! Shh, John. Stop being so talkative—it's not natural for a guy." John gave her a dark look, but Kitty entirely missed it as she returned to the window.

Far below, the sinister man was talking again. "We can give your friend Wanda her life back."

Tabitha eyed the man doubtfully. "Oh please."

John was shaking his head in distain. "What's he mean, give it back? Did something happen to Wanda?" He posed the question to Tabitha, but Kitty spoke first.

"Who's Wanda?"

Both mutants looked at her for a moment before John slapped his hand to his forehead. "Of course, you wouldn't know."

Before he could continue on to explain, Peter called up from his position two crates down. "What's going on up there?"

Kitty poked her head over the side of the crate and glanced down at him. She had forgotten he was standing there. "Some guy is offering Rogue a position over all his forces."

"And Wanda's life back." Tabitha added helpfully.

"What?" Peter asked in bewilderment.

Kitty frowned before giving Peter a 'one second' sign with her hands and pulling her head back over the ledge to stare at John. Tabitha had returned to the window and was listening closely. "So, who's Wanda?"

"She was a friend of Rogue's at Mystique's mansion." He said distractedly. Kitty faltered and stared at him incredulously. He squinted at Tabitha. "What happened to Wanda?"

Tabitha shrugged nonchalantly. "I don't know, I was getting you. They're making it sound like she died though."

"Friend at Mystique's?" Kitty questioned John disbelievingly. "What are you on? Rogue was kidnapped, dumbass! She wasn't making friends at a crazy terrorist woman's place!"

John looked startled at her outburst, but regained his composure quickly. "I keep forgetting how much you don't know."

"Well, time for some answers, then!"

Peter half-whispered up from his crate again. "Will someone tell me what's going on?"

Tabitha's eyes widened. "Holy shit! She accepted!"

Kitty's head turned to the obnoxious teenager. "Who accepted what?"

"Rogue accepted position of commander of his troops if he brings Wanda back."

"That's ridiculous!" Kitty exclaimed, frustrated with her limited knowledge. "You can't bring people back from the dead!" She paused. "…well, you can. But only in special circumstances."

Tabitha was still staring through the little window and her shocked eyes widened even more. "Make a bet on that?"

Kitty scrambled over to the window and hoisted herself back up to the ledge before peering through the glass. There was a body of a woman on a metal table in the middle of the room, one that hadn't been there the last time she looked. The woman was a horrid sight; her flesh was white and covered in bruises. Several bones looked broken and her leg had been crushed entirely under some great mass—all that remained of it was a flattened mess of flesh and crushed muscle and bone. The mere sight of the woman made Kitty gag and want to throw up. She quickly tore her eyes away. "I'm gunna be sick."

"What is it?" John stepped up to her previous position and glanced inside before reeling back. "Eww, holy shit!"

Tabitha gave him a 'are you serious' look. "Eww?"

"That's disgusting!" John defended himself. "How the hell are you still looking? It's sick!"

"I'm not a squeamish wuss like some people." Tabitha raised an eyebrow at him, daring him to challenge her.

"Kitty! What is going on up there!" Peter asked anxiously. The boy was known for his patience, but Kitty could see how frustrated she would be in his place.

"Rogue just agreed to give up her life to this man to resurrect this girl." Kitty poked her head over the edge. "I really have no idea what's going on either, Peter."

Peter blinked a few times. "…o—kay?"

"Holy hell!" Tabitha gasped.

"Just a minute!" Kitty told Peter. She disappeared over the ledge again. "What, what is it?"

"They're…she's…look." Before Kitty could protest, Tabitha grabbed her shirt and tossed her at the window. Kitty nearly lost her balance and fell through before she grabbed hold of the edge to steady herself. Kitty's eyes rounded in shock as she watched the red haired woman—Wanda, that was her name, being restored. There was a little girl above her who was poised with her hand over Wanda's leg and Kitty watched in amazement as the broken flesh and muscle began to re-knit itself.

"That's…wow." Kitty was at a loss for words.

John was standing on his tippy-toes to see from behind her. When he got a good look, he stopped jittering and his jaw dropped.

The sky around them darkened threateningly and Kitty glanced upwards with worry mirrored in her eyes. She glanced over at John who was similarly staring at the sky. "Ororo?" She echoed softly. She tried the communicator again, but only got static. "Ororo?" Kitty asked more loudly. "Thunderbolt if you need help?"

Then, just as quickly as the bad weather had come, the clouds started to clear and sunny skies shown forth through the suddenly bright outdoors. "Umm…" Kitty couldn't tell if this was a good thing or not. She knew Ororo's emotions sometimes affected the weather, but for it to turn back so quickly could mean a number of different things. Plus, Kitty wasn't altogether sure what happened when Ororo was knocked out. Did the weather return to normal? She didn't know.

John shrugged at her. "Guess not."

Kitty peeped back in the window and saw that the black haired man was leaving. She waited until she was sure that they were all gone before she hopped down from the crate tower and grabbed Peter's hand. Peter looked like he wanted to ask her something, but Kitty spoke first. "Grab ahold, everyone. Don't just stare at me." John and Tabitha linked hands and John put his other hand on Peter's shoulder. Kitty led the four of them straight through the wall and into the warehouse where a livid Logan stood fuming and Mystique tried to calm him down. Pietro was frozen in place, staring numbly at a spot on the floor.

Kitty frowned at the sight. Mystique was rubbing Logan's shoulders soothingly, as if they were a thing. They were all supposed to be enemies with Mystique, weren't they?

With an animalistic howl, Logan shrugged off Mystique and charged outside. He disappeared into the bright sunlight and Kitty swallowed thickly. He hadn't even noticed them. "Umm…"

Mystique's head swiveled in their direction and her eyes narrowed at them. She crouched down as if to attack before her eyes alighted upon John. "Pyro?" She asked dubiously. "You're with Shaw?"

John quirked an eyebrow. "Shaw?" It took half a second to register the whole exchange he had just witnessed before it hit him. "Oh—the black haired guy? No, no. I'm with Magneto." He glanced around the warehouse. "Speaking of which…where'd he go? We just saw him through the window…"

Mystique's eyes narrowed. "He's gone. Shaw took both him and Wanda and left." Her jaw clicked as she snapped it shut and glanced around the room. Her eyes fell on Pietro who was still frozen in place. "Pietro." She ventured. No response.

Mystique shook her head and walked up to the dumbfounded boy. She clicked her fingers together in front of his face and finally Pietro averted his eyes from the spot. His gaze fell on her in surprise before he hopped to his feet. "We have to go after them!"

Logan was just walking back in and his eyes were narrowed to slits. "The trail dies about ten feet from the warehouse. Musta all teleported out or somethin'." He practically snarled the words. Pietro halted at the words, looking stricken.

"We'll find her." Mystique assured him. "And cut that bastard Shaw to bits."

"Umm, Logan?" Logan's head swiveled in her direction menacingly before his feral eyes recognized her.

"Kitty? Peter?" He frowned. "What the hell are you two doing here?"

"Well, uh…"

Peter stepped closer to explain. "We followed John and Tabitha with Ororo. We wanted to find Magneto's base."

Logan growled. "Well, you found it. Won't really do you any good now."

Mystique trailed up behind Logan and clasped his hand in her own. Kitty watched the display with wide eyes then swallowed thickly. "Uh, Logan…?"

"What, kid?" Logan asked, seeming oblivious as his eyes searched the rafters, as if expecting someone to jump down and attack them.

"Well…um, I don't really know how to put this, but…"

Peter stepped forward again so that he was at her side. "Jus' what the hell is going on here?" He asked boldly, very out of character. He must have been pretty disturbed to see Logan and Mystique too. At Logan's look, he quickly added. "Sir."

Logan glanced down at his clasped hand with Mystique and it seemed to dawn on him what they were talking about. "Oh—right. Kitty, Peter, Mystique is my wife."

Kitty's jaw dropped and Peter took a step back at the revelation. "What?" Kitty herself seemed unable to speak and Peter was floored with the news.

Logan scratched at the back of his neck in irritation. "It's a long story, just—just accept it, alright." He wasn't about to discuss him long lost memories with the two. He had more important things to attend to. "Right now, we've gotta find Rogue."

Kitty bit her bottom lip as the thought occurred to her. "Logan, there's something you should know about Rogue…" Kitty trailed off, wondering how on earth she was going to tell him this.

"I already know she's my daughter, kid." Logan cut in, effectively ruining her dilemma.

"What?" Kitty sputtered. "B-but how?"

"Thunderbird!" Pietro shouted as his eyes lit up.

"Pietro, man, are you alright?" John asked uncertainly, walking over to his boss's son. "Did you get hit when—"

Pietro shook his head at the lot of them. "Remy and Rogue were attacked by Elizabeth _and _a Thunderbird!"

Tabitha quirked an eyebrow at him. "He's lost it."

Pietro ignored them all and raced out the room. From the right, a loud groan was heard. "Ughhnugh." Remy blinked rapidly as his eyes adjusted to the light of the warehouse. Why did it feel like he had a hangover? Remy was sure he'd remember if he'd been out drinking.

Slowly, as Remy lifted himself to his feet and glanced around, the memories started to return. He had been at Magneto's warehouse when…Remy spun around, on full alert as he drew out his bo staff from his coat. "Where's Rogue?" He asked testily, eying everyone around him suspiciously.

"We're trying to figure that out." Kitty supplied. Remy spun around to face the new voice and his forehead crinkled as he squinted at her.

"Who are dey?" He asked Mystique suspiciously.

Mystique sighed as Pietro raced back inside, carrying a large man with dark hair and a strong facial structure. He had several tattoos along his arms of birds and thunder strikes. His hair was straight and long, it fell all the way to his shoulders, and his skin was a dark shade of bronze. "Who's that?" John asked as Pietro laid the unconscious man down on the table.

Tabitha leaned back against the side of the building and relaxed. "I'm going to take a wild guess here, and say that's Thunderbird."

"Hey!" Remy piqued, "dat man attacked Rogue an' me!" He went over to stand behind Pietro, who was viciously shaking the man, trying to wake him.

Remy's words caught Logan's attention and he also made his way over to the metal table. "This guy works for Shaw, then?"

Remy nodded. "He was wit' Elizabeth when dey attacked." Remy frowned. "Is she on our side o' not?"

Logan shook his head. "I can't really tell. Shaw doesn't trust her though, from what I've heard."

Remy nodded again, taking this in. "_Oui,_ she a tricky _fille _t' figure out." He suddenly stopped shaking his head as Logan's words registered. "Wait, _homme_…who's Shaw?"

Mystique sighed in exasperation.

---

**The group of mutants appeared amidst the trees in the forest behind Xavier's school for the Gifted. **Jubilee reached down to brush herself off as Sparks and Bethany doubled over in pain from the teleportation. Paige coughed as blue smoke clogged her senses and only Kurt seemed entirely unaffected.

"You know, Kurt. Inhaling all that brimstone all the time—it really can't be healthy for you." Jubilee brushed off the imaginary dust from her pants before straightening. Her eyes alighted upon a strange mutant who was strapped to the ground with vines and roots. "Ut oh, Kurt. I think we intruded upon something kinky."

Sparks snorted back laughter and Paige blushed again at Jubilee's audacity. Bethany remained silent, still on the ground and holding her stomach. Kurt followed Jubilee's gaze to the mutant and shook his head, apparently missing her humor. "Zat is for investigating."

Jubilee smiled as she walked over to the guy. "Investigating what? I like the improve restraints by the way, that's pretty twisted." Jubilee frowned as her eyes fell on his wrist, where he was bleeding profusely. "Damn boy—someone bit you a little too hard, huh?" Her eyes traveled to his face and for the first time, she noticed that he was unconscious. "Oh—well someone worked a number on him! Knocked the poor guy out! Just goes to show that girls actually _do _have more endurance in th—"

"Jubilee!" Kurt silenced her. His eyes were drawn to the bite marks around the man's wrist. "Zat's from Wolfsbane…" Kurt speculated softly.

"You mean, Rahne—while she was a wolf?! Oh, eww."

Kurt rolled his eyes as the younger kids followed up behind him. Kurt studied the wrist for a moment, making sure that nothing vital had been hit, before he stood up fully once again and called out. "Zack? Vhere are you, Zack?"

Some distance off behind them, Zack called back. "We're here, Kurt!" Footsteps began to shuffle through leaves and brush as he approached with the group of kids behind him. When they came close enough, one voice raised above the rest of the hushed whispers of the group. "Paige?"

Paige spun around at the voice. "Sam?"

Sam quickly pushed his way to the front of the group and made a mad dash for Paige. Similarly, Paige almost tripped as she rushed towards her brother. The two met in the middle and threw their arms around each other in a tight embrace. "I thought they got you." Sam cried, overcome with relief. "I was so worried—I-I'm glad you're here, and not hurt." He pulled away suddenly and grabbed Paige by the shoulders. "You are…you know, not hurt? Right?"

Paige nodded and dove back into her brother's safe arms. Paige was crying softly and clinging to him for all she was worth. Her head was buried in his shoulder and it cut off her tears somewhat.

Jubilee's face had softened as she watched the two. "Awww. This is a picture perfect moment." The two siblings were simply adorable together, especially knowing how much they both cared about one another.

Kurt blinked once before his eyes went back to Zack. "Zack-vhat happened? Ze man is bleedin'!"

Zack winced as he glanced over at Rahne who was by his side. Rahne turned away and hid her face behind his arm. "We got him to talk." Zack said, trying to steer away the attention from how they had accomplished this. "He told us everything."

"Come over here and tell me." Kurt directed.

"Hey, no! Everyone should know." Jubilee protested. "The whole mansion is under attack-this affects us all."

The kids quieted at her outburst, also anxious to know what was going on. Even Paige and Sam hushed their glee at the words to listen. Kurt sighed. She had a point, but it wasn't something he really wanted to discuss in front of all the kids. "Yeah." Sparks jumped in to agree. "We deserve to know too."

Some of the others were nodding while the rest kept silent, anticipating what Kurt would say. Kurt shut his eyes for half a second and shook his head. "Zat is best, I suppose. Zack? Vhat did you learn?"

"The guy's name is Argus and he works for a group called the Mutant Champions. They invaded the mansion to take over at our base and use the X-Men's resources. They also plan to manipulate Ororo—mind control, I think—her into helping their cause. They want to use her government resources like Hank to spread their control."

"Well that makes sense." Jubilee spoke. "Really nice execution of the plan on their part." Sparks glared at her as if she was taking their side and Jubilee shrugged. "What? You gotta give credit where credit's due."

"That's not it." Zack continued. "They have plans for one of the X-Men particularly. Rogue—" Zack almost trailed off at Kurt's expression. "They want Rogue to lead them to glory."

On the ground, the man's eyes snapped open and he started cackling. It was impossible to tell where he was looking because his black eyes didn't move at all, but Kurt imagined he was looking right at them. "You're all in _big_ trouble now."

Not far behind them, they heard the unnatural rustle of footsteps in the forest. The Mutant Champions had found them. "Vis way!" Kurt shouted to the group. "Follow me!" They took off at a run.

"Well." Jubilee commented as she ran ahead with the group. "At least we know they want us alive to use as hostages."

A bone spike sped past not two inches from her face and embedded itself deeply into the tree in front of her. Sparks gave her a dark look. "You _had_ to say something." Jubilee gave him the finger.


	28. Choosing Sides

**Ororo peered in through the skylight at the mutants below. **Her eyes were wide with fright and her jaw had dropped incredulously. Just what the hell was going on with Logan? His behavior was unthinkable. Not in a thousand years would she have even considered it. The very notion sickened her thoughts. Yet there he was, right before her eyes—holding _hands_ with Mystique!_ Did Betsy give me hallucinations?_ Ororo wondered.

"Jus' what the hell is going on here…sir?" Peter finally stepped forward and challenged the clearly deranged Logan. Kitty was otherwise unable to utter the words herself.

_Well,_ Ororo thought wryly, _at least I'm not the only one who sees the irony in this alternate dimension. It's good to know someone else has noticed this anomaly._

Logan seemed put off by the question for a moment before looking over at Mystique. "Oh—right, Kitty, Peter, Mystique is my wife."

Ororo gasped audibly and put a hand up to her heart, suddenly feeling faint. What in the world was happening? Surely she must have heard incorrectly! Logan couldn't have uttered those words. And if he had—then he was mistaken, put under hypnosis somehow! Mystique lured him in and put in false recollections to his mind. That had to be it. There was no other logical explanation. Logan would _never_ be with Mystique. And wife?! The notion was impossible. Ororo tried desperately to erase the thought from her mind entirely. Something felt terribly wrong, it was as if a cold grip had suddenly clutched her around the middle and froze her to the spot. This could _not _realistically be happening.

Ororo blinked away the black dots in front of her vision and waited half a moment for the faint feeling to pass. There was a reasonable explanation behind all this, she knew, and she would get it. If she had to beat Mystique into the dirt, by God she would. Ororo stuck her head back over the ledge to see who else was in the warehouse. Voices drifted up in conversation, but Ororo was focusing more on the people rather than what was being said. She had heard enough to know that something was seriously wrong.

Kitty and Peter were down there. Thank the goddess for that, once she had dropped the communication device she had had no way to contact them, but they were safe. Good children—she was glad they hadn't decided to interfere upon the scene inside when Shaw was talking to Logan.

Mystique and Logan were both inside too. Ororo tried not to spend time specifying on them. She had already seen too much and it made her sick. What was important was the fact that Logan was safe and alive, although deranged, he hadn't gone off and gotten himself killed. That was a plus.

Magneto, Rogue, and the red haired woman on the table were all gone. That was something to be concerned about. No little force could take down Magneto, Ororo knew that for a fact. She had been so close to finding and rescuing Rogue once and for all too, but that chance was apparently gone.

One boy zipped out of the room, but before he did so, Ororo recognized his stature and white hair. It was Pietro, Magneto's son. Charles had mentioned him a few times to her and she had seen a couple pictures. The boy in person was quite spectacular—his mutation was obviously very advanced and he was now a grown man. His stark white hair set off the look slightly and made him appear more childish, but Ororo could tell that he was at least twenty. It made her wonder when Erik had ever had time to have children. _And with who?_

But that was a mystery for another time. Ororo's eyes fell on a large unconscious mutant near the front door and she squinted, trying to identify him. She'd never seen him before, she deduced. He was huge and very muscular in his straps—armored top? Ororo couldn't make it out well enough to tell, but she could see a discarded helmet a few feet away from his unconscious body.

"Hey! Dat man attacked Rogue an' me!" A familiar accent suddenly floated up to Ororo's ears and her hands tightened on the ledge of the window. Was that—Remy? Ororo's eyes followed the source of the voice. It was! What was he doing here? Last she had heard, Remy had been down in Louisiana being a troublemaker like usual. How had he gotten involved with any of this?

Ororo breathed in slowly to absorb all this. It was almost too much to take in at once. She knew, well, if Betsy was right, then the mansion had been taken over. She needed to get Logan back into his right mind and claim it back. She didn't know what this whole thing was about, but it was wearing on her and she was ready to be done with it. When had things been simple? Ororo longed for things to return to what they'd been. These last few months without the professor and without a full staff of adults had been difficult. More than all that, she missed her colleges. With running the mansion and all, she hadn't been given proper time to grieve for them. It was all too much to take.

Ororo took one more moment to settle her nerves before popping open the skylight. She had to get to the bottom of this now, before things got worse. It was time to fix it all. She floated down the hatch and her eyes were white as she descended among the group of mutants.

"Ororo!" Kitty cried in surprise. Peter rushed up to help her land softly, but Ororo waved him off as her white misted eyes focused on Mystique.

"Raven." Thunder crackled above and a lightning bolt streaked down from the sky to strike at the blue mutant. It barely missed by a hair's fraction as Pietro raced up behind Mystique and tackled her to the ground. The lightning bolt left a black mark on the cement ground and Ororo moved to strike at Mystique again. She raised her hand to the sky—and was tackled to the ground by Logan.

"Storm, what the hell do you think you're doing?!" Logan roared, pinning the struggling woman underneath him. Ororo writhed under him before her still-white eyes flashed over to Mystique again and Pietro quickly hauled her away from any windows or openings to the weather outside.

Logan grabbed Ororo by her shoulders and shook her firmly. "Storm! Get a hold of yourself! Goddamnit, woman!" Logan shook her harder. "Ororo!"

Ororo's eyes danced away from Mystique at the sound of her name and the white mist started to thin as her normally brown eyes returned. She blinked at Logan once, twice, three times before he seemed to register in front of her. Her eyes narrowed at him dangerously. "You've been bewitched, Logan!" Her eyes once again found Mystique and hardened. "She's twisted your thoughts!"

"Ororo, get a hold of yourself! What is this about?"

Her attack had earned quite a number of eyes. Everyone was looking at her. Kitty and Peter watched their normally calm leader with gaping mouths and unbelieving faces while Mystique glared back at her. Pietro himself didn't really seem too into the whole situation, now that Mystique was safe he was back at the side of the metal table on which a man lay unconscious. Remy was grinning characteristically.

"Perhaps de _fille _was eavesdroppin', no?" He smiled at Ororo knowingly. "It's good t' see y' again Stormy."

"Remy, stay out of this." Ororo commanded tightly. Her steely eyes fixed on Logan. "She's tricked you, Logan. She's obviously messed with your mind." She glared at Mystique once again, hate shining through her eyes. "Who did you use to trick him? Was it Betsy?"

Mystique smiled thinly. "You really don't trust the woman well, Ororo. After all she's done to show her worth, I would think you'd be more open to giving her a second chance."

"From the mouth of the manipulator." Ororo spat. "Tell me, oh trusting one. Taken any cure bullets lately?"

Mystique's eyes narrowed to slits. "I'm curious, what bothers you more: the fact that Logan loves me or that Rogue chose me over your little group?"

"What are yo-"

"Ladies, ladies." Remy interrupted. "Let's not kill each other, _heh?_ We're both on de same team here. No reason why we all can't jus' kiss an' make up--"

"Shut up, Remy." They ordered simultaneously, then both glared at each other heatedly.

Logan snapped his fingers in front of Ororo's face to grab her attention again. "Listen, Ororo. I know what I saw was true—I felt what I saw and Mystique's not playing mind games with me. You're gunna have to accept that at face value. The only thing we have to discuss now is how we're going to get Rogue back."

Ororo's jaw set at the mutant above her. "Get off of me, Logan."

Logan's eyes flickered over to Mystique. "Play nice." He commanded. With that, he stood up and offered Ororo a hand to help her up. Ororo pointedly ignored him and stood herself, dusting off before she lifted her glaring gaze again.

"The mansion's been taken by Shaw's minions." Ororo caught Logan's eyes and stared him down. "We have to get back now and save the kids."

Kitty piped up. "But how do you know that, Storm?" She asked. "You were with Peter and me up until a few minutes ago."

Ororo looked decidedly uncomfortable with the question. "I have it on good authority."

"But how?" Peter asked.

Mystique's mouth twisted into a cold smile as she observed Ororo's discomfort. "Betsy told you, didn't she?" Mystique shook her head as she walked up beside Logan and leaned into him provocatively, obviously irking Ororo. "You are a walking contradiction Storm—claiming to not trust Betsy, then taking her word on the mansion's troubles. Tell me: how can I become as sure as you always are?" She mocked openly. Logan gave her a dark look, but Mystique brushed it off.

"It doesn't matter." Ororo said coldly, her voice like steel. "Logan has responsibilities to the mansion that he will fulfill."

"Or—he's going to come after Rogue with _me_ instead."

"Multiple students trump her crisis—the mansion is in danger and taken over by Shaw's hoards that are only there _because _of Rogue in the first place."

Logan gritted his teeth and held out his palms to both women, separating them and holding them away from each other by their shoulders. "Both of you, stop! This is getting us nowhere. Ororo-" he locked eyes with her briefly, "I'm going to save my daughter. She trumps all circumstance in my book." He turned his head to look at Mystique. "And you are going to stop causing trouble with her—understand?"

Watching the whole scene from the side, Remy leaned over to Peter and whispered. "De _filles _all got dere panties in a bunch, _heh?_ Remy's gunna bet on Stormy— y' game?"

Peter and Logan both shot him a look that quieted him down before Logan released the women. "Now, Ororo—I know _you _have priority to the school so take the kids," he gestured to Kitty, Peter, John, and Tabitha "and go rescue your mansion. I've got a spongy bastard to take care of on this side."

"But I can help rescue Rogue!" Kitty complained. "I can break into whatever cell they've got her in!" She was ignored.

"Logan." Ororo commanded his attention with her grave tone and devil stare. "I understand your desire to help Rogue, but damnit, this is important. The kids are under Shaw's thumb and he's planning to use our resources for his operations. The operations that _involve _Rogue. You heard the man yourself—he doesn't want to hurt her, he wants to _use _her as a weapon. The men who've taken the mansion will know where his base is."

Logan growled at her. "We already have an informant." He gestured over to the unconscious man that Pietro was slapping, trying to wake. "You don't need my help to liberate the mansion."

Ororo almost shrieked in frustration. "I can't handle a team full of mutants myself, Logan!"

Logan gestured again at the kids. "Split up the team then and take who you want. Rogue is more important to me than everyone in that mansion." Logan paused. "But not Kitty. I'm taking her."

Beside Peter, Kitty smiled. So they had heard her!

"Whoa." John protested. "I am _not _going with Storm to help liberate the X-Mansion. I'm not on your team." Logan shot him such a dark look that any other man would have fell silent instantly at the intensity in his glare. John gritted his teeth back, challenging Logan.

"You'll do what I tell you to do, punk." Logan advanced on John and John flicked out his lighter. Before he could even light a flame, Logan swatted it out of John's hand and it went skittering off to the side. Logan grabbed John's neck and threw him against the wall offensively. John had a dazed moment of de ja vu before claws were at his throat. "And you won't cause trouble."

John didn't seem the least bit scared of Logan as he stared him down. Tabitha arched an eyebrow at him. "Aww, come on John. Don't ya want to see Bobby again?"

A cold glint passed through John's eyes at Bobby's name and he clenched his fists against his sides. "Whatever you say, Captain Claws." John sneered. Logan let the boy down and gestured at Tabitha.

"You're going with them."

Tabitha shrugged. "S' long as you get Mags to pay me, I'm down. 'Sides, Blue's at the mansion too, you know! I've had to save his cute little demony butt before, let me tell you. Hey—what about Juggs?" Tabitha asked, gesturing to the unconscious man on the ground. "And Longshot and Petra? I bet they could help."

"Do you know where they are?" Logan questioned.

Tabitha shrugged. "Went out on a date. I could guess where accurately enough. Probably Tony's Grill—Longshot's not one for big spending. He pushes his luck with girls you know, 'cause he can." Tabitha shot him a grin as if he were supposed to understand a joke she was making.

Logan turned away and nodded at Ororo. "There, you have six. Now go."

Ororo glanced over at Remy. "And you?"

Remy shrugged. "Remy goes where de _fille _is at. Sorry Stormy." Ororo gave him a curt nod and turned to the entrance of the building. Her charges followed and they began to revive Juggernaut. Logan turned away, tracing his steps back to the table where the unconscious man still lay. It was time to get some answers.

---

**Ahh, it felt so good. **Rogue knew something was wrong. Her memories of before her falling unconscious were swarming her mind as she regained consciousness, but she didn't want to move from this spot. She felt warm and safe and cozy. Even with all the recent memories floating around her mind, Rogue didn't want to get up. She felt restful and simply wanted to go back to sleep.

Unfortunately, Rogue's rational mind argued against this. Rogue barely remembered much as she fell unconscious, but she remained aware of the fact of why she had fallen unconscious. Those mutants—the one's with Shaw—they had been restoring Wanda back to life. As if such a thing were possible—Rogue scoffed to herself, but at the same time she knew _something_ had gone down. She had witnessed Wanda's body being restored and life being breathed back into her. There was also one telltale sign that something serious had taken place.

Wanda's psyche was no longer with her.

Rogue could only grasp at the complications of what that meant. Had it really actually worked? Rogue couldn't stand to get her hopes up too much—men like Shaw couldn't really be trusted, right? But then, where was Wanda? She wasn't with her, that was for sure, so maybe they _had _restored her to her healed body. Rogue grit her teeth at the thought, trying to squash her hope. She didn't want to be disappointed.

Rogue squirmed on the mattress she was on. Slowly, she opened her eyes and let them adjust to her surroundings. The light was only dim so it didn't take long before her eyes adjusted. Rogue kept her eyes only slitted open, cautious of anyone else in the room. As she glanced around discretely, she discovered that she was in a blue-walled bedroom. It was furnished nicely with oak dressers and comforting pictures of beautiful landscape on the far wall. The bed she was in was King sized and squishy, very comfortable, and she herself was hidden under a large blue comforter. _Ya'd think they'd been expecting a boy. _Rogue thought to herself wryly, studying the colors.

_Rogue, be careful._ Logan's voice warned through her mind.

_Ah've got to stop wakin' up in other people's rooms. _Rogue replied with a half smile. _That's the real problem here._

_Remy can understand y' dilemma. _Remy chuckled softly. _An' y' don't have t' worry 'bout bein' seen, chere. Dere's nobody in de room wit' y'._

_What do ya suppose they're playin' at? _Rogue asked her psyches, still unwilling to fully open her eyes.

Remy shrugged. _Dey want y' t' be leader, no? Providin' nice surroundin's for dere future princess._

Rogue frowned and finally opened her eyes. She glanced around the room speculatively, but there was nobody else in the room, just as Remy had promised. Rogue's eyes locked on the only door to the room. _Ah suppose that's the way a girl's gotta go._

Before she could even stand up, there was a loud noise that sounded like a whip cracking and a woman appeared at the foot of her bed out of thin air. Rogue started and jumped back in surprise, banging her head against the backboard of the bed. She winced outwardly as her hand traveled up to her throbbing head and she rubbed the area tenderly. Rogue glanced back up at the woman who'd just entered the room.

She didn't look to be much older than Rogue herself. Somewhere in her twenties, the woman stood a little short at five two. Her black hair was straight and combed back, falling over her back like a waterfall it came down to the middle of her back. Her eyes were bright and shone like topaz, a deep, crystal brown color that was almost yellow, it was so light. She was small and reminded Rogue a little of Kitty. She had a soft, innocent face and was smiling.

"I'm sorry!" The girl apologized. "I didn't mean to scare you!" She put the platter she held down on the edge of the bed and rushed over to Rogue's side. "Are you alright?"

Rogue pulled down her hand from her head and her eyebrows scrunched at the woman. "That whippy noise…?"

"Yeah, I'm really sorry. That was me. I make that sound whenever I teleport. I would have just came in, but I saw that you were awake and I just wanted to get here quickly." She bit her bottom lip nervously. "I wasn't really supposed to leave until you woke up."

_They have video cameras._ Logan speculated.

Remy nodded, agreeing. _That's how she knew when you woke up, maybe. It might just be part of her mutation. You'll have to search for bugs later._

_Bugs? _Rogue blinked at the girl and she quickly reached over to the edge of the bed. "But I brought you food!" She continued, scurrying to get pass the fact that she wasn't with Rogue when she awoke. Rogue's stomach grumbled painfully loud at the mention of food and Rogue colored slightly as the girl grinned at her. "I thought you might be hungry." She pushed the tray closer to Rogue. Up close, Rogue saw the sandwich, chips, pop and cookie that were on the tray. The girl nodded at Rogue encouragingly, seeing the longing in her eyes. "Go on, eat."

Rogue's hand was already reaching for the food before the girl had said so. She was starving, she realized. Rogue tried to remember the last time she had a good meal. As the food touched her tongue, Rogue relished the taste and breathed in deeply, grateful for this accommodation.

The girl smiled shyly and sat on the edge of Rogue's bed, letting Rogue get into her meal before rushing into anything or asking questions or…doing whatever she was here for. When Rogue had finished the sandwich and started in on the chips, the girl began to talk again. "So, my name's Tessa and I'm here to guide you around the place. I'll show you all around headquarters and the base and the training areas. I'm also going to be the one to personally help you cope with and control every new power you absorb here as well as be your psychic replacement to help make sure your psyches don't go haywire again."

Rogue almost choked on the pop as she was chugging it down. She sputtered for a minute before swallowing it all and blinking at Tessa again. "What?"

Tessa seemed confused at her confusion for a minute before it dawned on her. She closed her eyes and silently berated herself. "I'm sorry again! I went out of order on that. I'm supposed to tell you about your purpose here first, then about the area. Damnit."

"Hold up." Rogue motioned. "What are ya talkin' about?"

The girl faltered again, looking perplexed. "Your purpose here—" At Rogue's blank look, she continued on. "For the deal you made with Shaw—choosing to lead us as long as we helped out your friend Wanda."

"Stop right there." Rogue commanded. Tessa snapped her mouth shut and started biting her lip again. "Wanda's okay?" Rogue asked doubtfully. "She's…alive?"

"Oh!" Tessa jumped up suddenly. "Oh! You must have been unconscious by then! I'm really sorry, I'm screwing this introduction thing all up. Wanda is fine—she's all healed up and kicking. Well, not kicking, but sleeping."

"Can Ah see her?" Rogue asked impatiently, also getting to her feet.

Tessa shuffled her feet nervously. "Technically I'm not allowed to bring you to her," she started, then quickly continued at the look on Rogue's face "but I can show you her."

"Show meh." Rogue urged anxiously.

Tessa nodded then held out her hand. A little projected three dimensional picture rose up from between her fingers and danced lightly over her hand until it took shape as Wanda. She was laying flat out on a metal table and her chest was steadily rising and falling. "That's not good enough proof—" Rogue started, but Tessa held up a hand and closed her eyes.

"Is there anything you want to say to her?" She asked lightly.

"Ah want proof that it's her—give meh proof."

Tessa's voice changed then. Instead of her light, friendly tone, a more familiar growl came through. "You shouldn't have done that, Rogue."

"Wanda?" Rogue asked in awe, not knowing whether to believe or not.

"No, it's the Wizard of Oz." Wanda's voice softened somewhat from its normal sarcasm. "I didn't want you sacrificing for me, Rogue. That's not how it was supposed to play out."

"It was mah choice." Rogue strained, her voice tight with emotion. "And Ah wouldn't take it back for anythin'." Rogue swallowed thickly, feeling overcome. "Why won't they let meh see ya?"

Wanda sighed deeply. "It's an insurance policy. They've put me under with some sedatives and they're going to let me go when you've completed whatever tasks they want from you. It's to make sure you hold up your end."

Rogue's breath caught. "But…they did it? They…they brought ya back?"

Tessa's head nodded with Wanda's wishes. "They did."

"Oh mah God…" Rogue gasped. "Ah didn' know if-if they could. Ah thought…Ah don't know what Ah thought, but…"

"Yeah, you're not the only one." Wanda quirked an eyebrow at her that looked totally wrong on Tessa's face. The expression was Wanda's alone and the innocent girl before her couldn't quite take on all that Wanda was. "Rogue, be careful around these guys, okay? I want you to promise me something."

"It doesn't sound lihke Ah'm goin' to lihke hearin' this."

"You won't, but I want you to promise me."

"Maybe." Rogue started, but Tessa shook her head.

"No, Rogue, no maybe. You have to. I want you to promise that if things get dirty and bad for you that you'll get out of here, no matter if I'm captive or not."

"Ah can't promise that!" Rogue protested. "Ah won't!"

"Rogue—"

"No, Wanda! Ah'm doin' this fohr ya and Ah'm goin' ta go through with it, no matter what it costs meh. You didn't deserve to have ya life robbed from ya, but it still happened—well this is mah job fohr ya to make up fohr it. Ah won't give up."

"Then I can only pray that Pietro rescues me quickly 'cause you're going to need to get out of this place." Wanda was all too aware of Gracie's prophecy. Rogue would gain power—absorb many, lead mutants…and then be killed by her. She had no intention of ever letting that prophecy come to pass. "You can't trust this place. I'm sure there's stuff going on behind the scenes Rogue."

"It doesn't seem that bad right now. They _did _fulfill the promise to bring you back." Rogue pointed out.

"To use me as something to control you." Wanda shot back. "Which, by the way, is working great." Wanda tried to clear the anger from her voice. "Just be careful, Rogue, okay? You can't trust these people or their cause."

"Ah'll be careful Wanda. Ya don't have to worry about meh."

_Yes, I do._ Wanda winced. "Tessa's letting go now. I'll be around Rogue, don't doubt it. And I'll be there to get you out of this. I promise that."

With that, Tessa's eyes shut again and she shook her head vigorously. The little projection disappeared from above her palm and she glanced over at Rogue again. "See? Shaw doesn't hold back on his deals."

Rogue nodded slowly, sitting back down on the bed and thumbing through what was left of lunch. "Okay. Now what's goin' on here?"

Tessa smiled and sat back down on the foot of Rogue's bed. "Well, as you know, we're a part of a group known as the Mutant Champions. Our title pretty much describes what we are—we help out mutants who are in need of guidance and our main goal is to get mutants to co-exist with humans peacefully."

Rogue arched an eyebrow. "Yeah?"

Tessa nodded. "It's just like Xavier's dream—except we have more resources to accomplish it."

"Okay…well, why did ya'r 'peaceful' Shaw leader bring a gang of mutants up against meh an' mah friends?"

Tessa shook her head. "That's not it at all—that wasn't an attack force sent to get you. It was a negotiating retrieval team. Shaw already knew what conditions he wanted to offer you so he brought those mutants and others as backup in case you fell into trouble."

Rogue frowned. Tessa seemed to honestly believe what she was saying was the truth. Did the girl simply not know? Or was there more to Shaw's team than the X-Men had first expected? What if it was simply a team of peaceful mutants? "Uh-huh." Rogue started. "So why do ya need meh? It seems lihke Shaw's got a pretty good thing goin' here himself. Why trade over 'commander' to meh?"

Tessa bit her lip nervously. "There are some groups, mutant haters, who don't like the idea of mutants coexisting with humans. They do awful stuff to us—lock us in testing labs, build machines to destroy us, make 'cures' for us. Shaw knows that there are more powerful mutants out there than himself who could help our cause a lot more. You have unlimited potential yourself for unlimited powers. Shaw recognizes that and sees that you could protect us from threats like that. We've lost quite a few who fought to protect us against those kinds of humans…" Tessa looked down, obviously disheartened. She took a moment before she glanced back up at Rogue.

"But you—you can absorb any number of mutations. You could become really powerful Rogue, so powerful that we wouldn't need to sacrifice mutant lives to save others. That is what Shaw's striving to achieve—he wants to make you the best, unbeatable, so that you can guard us and keep us safe until we're accepted."

Rogue frowned. "In other words, Ah'm supposed to do the dirty work?"

Tessa flinched. "I wouldn't say it like that…"

Rogue's frown deepened. It was obvious that Tessa truly believed in what she was saying. She saw Shaw as a savior of their race. Rogue had reason to doubt Shaw's intentions, but really, what if the guy was a hero? Could she really put him down just like that based on no evidence? The guy had kept his promise to her and he hadn't really done much to break a trust—yet. But Rogue was wary. Things weren't often what they seem.

"So Ah'm around to take care of the problems." Rogue clarified. "That doesn't necessarily make meh leader."

Tessa shook her head. "No, Shaw will continue all our other operations to keep things peaceful and the balance in place. He just wants to train you up to be able to take on anything."

"Hmm." Rogue mulled over this. "Ya said ya were here to help meh…with psyches and powers Ah absorb? Explain that."

"Well I have a special mutation—I mean other than teleportation and my memory and telepathy and stuff—" Rogue nodded with her, her brow furrowing at the list. "My main power—or first power rather, is to sense mutant potential in people, activate it if they want, and I can advance mutant powers to the next level—to a controlling state. So what I would do is that—advance the powers you absorb so that you can control them with just a thought. It makes the learning process go a lot quicker and more or less, less painful for you."

"So ya's want meh to absorb a ton of mutants?" Rogue asked, alarm rising in her voice.

"Oh don't worry!" Tessa assured her. "We're going to take it slow. Just one at a time and master mutations like that. And you don't have to touch anybody for long. Just enough to get what we need—the powers you absorb are collected and stored forever so you don't need to worry about hanging on for long. And I'm going to help you with the psyches."

"Right." Rogue nodded slowly, trying to take this in. " 'Cause ya'r a telepath…"

Tessa nodded. "Yeah. Shaw said I'd make the ideal guide for you since we're going to be spending a lot of time training together anyway. That's okay with you, right?"

Rogue blinked. "Ah have a say in it?"

"Well, yeah." Tessa looked nervous again. "You could fire me on the spot if you wanted, since you're now the commander of our defenses and everything…please don't replace me." Tessa fidgeted. "I just want to help out—I thought maybe, you know…"

"Ya thought what?" Rogue pushed.

Tessa was decidedly uncomfortable. "Um…nevermind."

Rogue frowned. "No, tell meh—what?"

Tessa looked apologetic for even bringing it up. "It's stupid."

"Ah'll fire ya if ya don't tell meh." Rogue joked.

Tessa squeaked, missing her humor. "We could…you know, be friends since I'll be helping you and you're the captain of us all and I just thought if I was your guide and your trainer person that we'd, you know, connect more than you do to the other mutants here and we could maybe become friends and—"

Rogue interrupted the jittery girl. "Tessa calm down." Tessa hushed quickly. "Yes, we cahn be friends an' no that wasn't stupid."

Tessa jumped, smiling shyly. "Yeah?"

Rogue gave a rueful grin, amused by the older girl's antics. "Yeah."

"Okay—okay—sorry for wigging out there for a moment. It's just, I don't have a lotta friends here yet-I'm sortof new…well, ish, but people usually find me hyper or weird or they don't like my mutations so they avoid me and I just thought, since Shaw's assigning me to you and everything, you know, we would just…get to be friends along the way. And I didn't mean to sound so pathetic like this—I'm sorry about that too—I was just really excited when Shaw told me I would be the one to guide you."

Rogue smiled, laughing inside at how nervously exciting Tessa was. "Ah'm not all that special." Rogue told her. "Jus' another mutant tryin' to get by."

"And so humble!" Tessa exclaimed. "Come on, follow me! I'm supposed to give you a tour now." Rogue stood and followed the over-excited girl. It was time to get accustomed to her new living quarters.


	29. Powers

**Siren opened her mouth to scream, but Philip held up a hand and tugged on her arm with his other hand.** "That'll affect us all—come on Siren." Siren shut her mouth and followed Philip who dodged his way through the path ahead, making a clear way for her to follow. Behind her, little Bethany stumbled along, trying to keep up. She was very much shorter than everyone else and in this situation it was a dire disability to her.

"Bethany, come on!" Philip urged, hanging back for half a moment as Siren zipped in front of him. He latched on to Bethany's hand and tugged her hard. Bethany almost stumbled as he took off, tightly handing on to her and making sure she ran at a more acceptable speed. "Can't you, like, do your time thing on them?" Philip asked her.

Bethany's eyes were wide with fear and she was already huffing from the effort of running. "There's too m-many." She stuttered. "I can't stop them all."

One particular mutant jumped forward directly for the two mutants. Bethany shrieked and turned on the spot, holding up both hands in front of her face. The mutant slowed in the air to a slow-motion descent and Philip quickly tugged Bethany back around. "Let's go!" They hopped over a fallen tree trunk and scrambled to keep up with the group ahead of them.

Just behind them, two other mutants rushed forward and were gaining on them quickly. Bethany could not keep up fast enough to evade their chasers and it was only a matter of moments before they would catch up with them. "Faster!" Philip urged. Bethany squeaked in pain and fright as she pushed her little legs to the maximum, desperately trying to escape.

Sam suddenly appeared beside them and he ordered them forward. "Go!" He shouted with an uncharacteristic firm determination in his voice. Energy crackled around him as fire ignited under his feet. Instead of using this to propel himself however, Sam stood still and yelled in agony as a large shield began to expand from the energy pooling at his feet. It was small at first, but rapidly grew and by the time the two mutants had reached his location, the shield was up and functional. They bounced back off of it with force and their eyes narrowed hatefully.

One boy, a black kid who seemed no older than Zack, howled with fury as spikes started to grow out of his skin. Sam flinched as he realized the spikes were actually bones that were poking out of the kid's skin. The kid wasted no time in aiming his bone spikes at Sam and unleashing a barricade of them against the shield. Sam fought to absorb the force of the spikes rather than let it wear his shield down, but the other mutant had started attacking too.

The other mutant held a hand up against the side of Sam's shield and Sam jolted back in surprise and shock as a hole ripped open where the man's hand touched his shield. The adult mutant—who seemed fully capable in his abilities—was absorbing Sam's shield into himself! Sam knew the shield was pure energy and he hated to think what the mutant could do with such an advantage if he sucked up the whole shield.

Nightcrawler appeared beside Sam with a _poof_ of brimstone smoke and grabbed Sam's hand. "Drop the shield!" Nightcrawler cried. Sam quickly obeyed and for one heart stopping moment, Sam thought they were both surely dead as Spikey boy shot twin spikes at them out of his forearms, but the certainty of their death was quickly dissolved as a sickening hollow feeling took over his body and the world around him disappeared for half a second.

They reappeared with the group of mutants and Kurt and Sam both stumbled for a moment before their comrades pushed them onward. Kurt was not used to having to teleport multiple parties and he'd already done so quite a few times already earlier that day. It was exhausting work to have to carry passengers with his teleporting. He shook his head, trying to drive away the dizziness, as he was pushed forward with the group of fleeing mutants. Kurt counted ten of them: Rahne, Sam, Zack, Beth, Magenta, Paige, Sparks, Jubilee, Philip, and Siren. He had never before teleported that many at once, and he certainly didn't have much training in teleporting when he was exhausted already. He preferred to let that be a last choice option.

They were still being chased, but there was some distance between them. Sam's shield had held off the foremost for a short while and Bethany had slowed one before he'd caught up to them. Rahne was already mutated into her wolf form and her head swung backwards momentarily as she scanned their pursuers. She had better eyesight than any of them in this form and she made out six distinct shadows in the forest.

"Rwers rex ro zem." She growled out, fighting to get the words out. It was almost impossible to speak through her elongated canines. She loped through the forest floor as Zack followed behind her.

"She wants sex with them?" Jubilee interpreted, sprinting beside Wolfsbane.

Zack shot Jubilee a dark look. "She said there's six of them."

"What?" Jubilee asked innocently. "Don't look at me, I don't speak dog."

"Funny." Sparks coughed, aligned alongside Jubilee's right. "I thought you were familiar with the bitch language."

Quicker than he could follow, Jubilee lashed out and backhanded him lightly with the side of her hand as she ran. "No one said you could talk, midget."

"Bitch!" Sparks shouted, his eyes glowing with a familiar power as his hands started to crackle.

"Guys!" Magenta called out desperately. All eyes turned to her and Sparks dropped his power at the sight of her. Magenta's eyes were glowing bright purple again and the glow had grown to encompass her whole body. Tears were dripping from her eyes as she fought to contain her power and continue running at the same time.

"Magenta!" Paige called out. Magenta was one of her roommates and, despite the age differences, the girls were friends. Paige looked out for the girl like a little sister. Paige made her way over to Magenta's side and a small glitter broke out on her hand.

"No, Paige!" Jubilee cried in alarm. "Don't!"

But it was too late. Paige groaned as her outer layer of skin started to peel and husk away. Along with it, Jubilee's jacket and Sparks jeans disintegrated with the transformation. Paige shuddered and nearly tripped before Zack caught her arm and kept her upright as Magenta came to a shuddering halt as the glow surrounding her brightened considerably. "Not my jacket…" Jubilee lamented. "I told you to take that off before you turn into a human corn husk again!"

"Your jacket!" Sparks raged, halting beside Jubilee. "She just disintegrated my pants!" Everyone else stopped their forward motion and turned back to where the footsteps were rapidly approaching behind them.

Paige, now in a complete diamond form, rushed over to Magenta and turned the girl so that she faced the opposite way they were running, towards the enemy. She hugged herself to the girl's back, covering as much exposed glowing skin as possible. Not four seconds after Paige had thrown herself on Magenta, the glow reached an eye-injuring bright purple and shot outward.

Paige was thrown off Magenta with the force of the blast and only stopped when her back crashed into a thick tree trunk and effectively cut off her motion. But Paige's intentions had been served. The blast that would have blasted them all ended up only hitting her and Magenta's unprotected front blasted forward. The light blast pitched forward and knocked into all six mutants behind them.

Four of the six mutants were thrown to the ground with the force of the light blast. The other two stumbled momentarily before finding their footing again and pressing on after them. Magenta collapsed to the ground, completely spent and exhausted. Zack knelt down and scooped the depleted girl up before rising and gesturing at the ground in front of one of the mutants chasing them. Two thick tree roots wound their way up through the ground and circled around the mutant's ankles, effectively stopping him in place. The guy yelped in surprise and tripped. Zack manipulated the root to crawl all the way up the man's legs and lock in place.

Unfortunately, the time spent to do that allowed the last mutant to get too close. The mutant threw forward both hands and a stream of pure energy shot out of his hands and struck Zack in the chest, throwing him backwards and burning his chest. Zack started to choke as he hit the ground and began coughing violently, clutching Magenta close to his chest to protect her.

"Oh no you don't!" Jubilee snapped angrily. "Make Paige burn up _my _jacket and you think you can get away with that?! Nuh-uh!" The man turned to shoot a blast at her too, but Jubilee was too quick for him. She rolled out of the way so the blast hit the dirt instead and burned through a few leaves.

Jubilee sprung to her feet and generated several streams of plasmoids at her fingertips. She shot these plasmoids at the mutant and was rewarded when they struck low at his legs and he clutched his leg in pain as the plasmoids burned through his skin and touched the tender muscle underneath. "Yeah, boy, how do you like them fireworks?!"

A shock of electricity jolted the man's other side and he spasmed once before passing out cold on the ground. Jubilee glanced over to her right and saw that Sparks fingers were zapping with electrical energy, leftover from a discharge he'd just released. She narrowed her eyes at him. "Thanks, hotshot, but I had him fine myself."

Sparks sneered at her. "Guess it might be hard for a girl with dyscalculia, but simple math will tell you that two on one gives you a better shot." Jubilee's face whitened at the mention of her condition. Sparks noticed her color draining and smiled cruelly. "What's amatter, Jubes? Didn't know that anyone knew about your learning disabilities—don't worry, nobody dares to call them retards anymore. It's too offensive for feeble minds to take." He mocked her openly, grinning sadistically as if he got the ultimate high from her embarrassment and discomfort.

For once, Jubilee had nothing to say back to him. No quick, cunning comeback or swift attack, nothing. She stood stock still, momentarily frozen to the spot, all color drained from her face. "Hit a soft spot?" Sparks scorned. "Didn't know bitches had those."

Kurt suddenly appeared between them and held out his hands as if to stop them from coming closer to attack each other. "Stop vis." He commanded firmly. "We have to go. Ze danger is not over." He gestured to the four fallen mutants that Bethany had knocked over. Bethany's blast literally zapped a person of their energy entirely and scoured pain through the body, but these guys were determined. They were already trying to crawl back to their feet. "Go." Kurt nodded towards Sparks in the other direction. Sparks shot a look back over his shoulder then began gathering his teammates up to get on the move again.

"Jubilee? Are you okay?" It took Jubilee a moment to let Kurt's question register. She nodded. She wasn't hurt, at least not physically. Sparks comments struck way too close to home and Jubilee had zoned out for a minute, returning to her childhood in math class. It wasn't a memory she wanted to relive. Jubilee swallowed thickly and shook herself mentally. _It's just Sparks being an asshole._ She told herself. How he had figured out her condition was beyond her, but she couldn't let him see how much it affected her. He'd just use that in the future to provoke her. Jubilee shook her head, trying to clear her mind.

Kurt was staring at her in concern. "Are you sure?" He asked her again, doubtfully.

"I'm fine, Kurt." She put on a bright, fake smile. "Let's get this show on the road huh? Want me to knock out our troupers before we head off?" She asked, gesturing behind her shoulder.

Kurt's eyes followed her hands. "I zink we'll be alright." He commented. Jubilee glanced back over her shoulder to see that Rahne was methodically smashing her head against each mutant she came up to. Zack had restrained them all with thick roots and Rahne knocked them out, one by one as she came upon them.

"Okay then." She nodded at the odd display. "Let's wolf-out."

Kurt gave her a dark look and Jubilee complained amiably. "Why does everyone always give _me_ that look?"

---

**Tessa put her hand in an electric scanner and leaned close by the pad.** "Tessa. Verification code 29403859343753956474745659897543221457, codename Sage. Enter New participant to the system." Tessa drew back her hand and shook it, as if the scanner had injured her. She turned around to Rogue again. "Okay, so put your hand in the scanner and give your name. Then say 'Verification code' and make up a number that you can easily remember and then give out your codename. The machine's got a voice recognition computed in so it'll take in your voice waves and recognize your signature when you speak into it."

Rogue blinked. "Isn't that a lot for access into a training room?"

"It'll give you access to everywhere in the building." Tessa explained. "You really can't be too careful when you've got a base full of mutants-some can imitate voice, read your code, decipher into the technology, a lot of different things. So it's only precautionary, you know."

"Right." Rogue nodded unsurely. She stepped up to the pad and held out her hand. Tessa helped fit her palm onto the pad and a little light started bleeping as a bright yellow light started scanning her palm up and down. "Mah verification code doesn't have to be 500 numbers lihke yours, does it?"

Tessa smiled. "No, it can be as short as five numbers."

"Then why the heck do ya have such a long verification number?"

Tessa gestured towards the pad. "Just a second—you've got to speak into it now."

Rogue turned back to the pad and leaned in, the way she had seen Tessa do. "Uhm…" Rogue started, unsure. "Marie." Tessa chuckled. When Rogue turned to look at her, she gestured back at the machine. "Verification code 58392, codename Rogue." The machine gave a soft bleep then something sharp stabbed into her finger. "Ow!" Rogue cried, drawing away her hand in surprise and pain. "Ya didn't tell meh that it was gunna bite meh!"

Tessa giggled at her. "You weren't supposed to say 'uhm' first, you know."

"What?" Rogue asked, rubbing her finger. There was a tiny little pinprick of blood, but it was nothing serious and the pain had already disappeared. It was like getting a needle injection pinch.

"The machine," Tessa gestured again. "It recorded your uncertainty. You're going to have to say 'uhm' now every time you say your first name into the machine."

Rogue frowned as Tessa grinned at her. "Ah can't redo it?"

"Not right now." Tessa said, obviously still amused.

Rogue dropped her wrist and started following Tessa into the next room. "So why is ya'r code so long? An' how do ya even remember that?"

Tessa smiled softly. "It's a part of my mutation."

"Another manifestation?" Rogue asked, awed by how many mutations this girl had received.

Tessa nodded. "I was blessed with a lot of good mutations."  
"So what cahn ya do?" Rogue questioned. "All ya'r mutations. What are they?"

Tessa paused for a moment and Rogue glanced up at the new room they were in. It was huge, easily twice the size of two football fields long and half that across. There was nothing in the immediate vicinity, but Rogue could make out various weapons on the far wall. They ranged from hand to hand battling weapons to long range ones. "Interesting empty room." Rogue commented wryly.

"This is the training room. We practice with all sorts of weapons and situations and simulations. You'll start practice tomorrow with me." Tessa turned and nodded at her. "Anyway, I have photographic memory—as in I can remember every single moment of every life occurrence, that's why I made my confirmation number so long." Tessa shrugged. "I feel safer with a longer number because others aren't likely to remember it, even if they hear me say it. No one's going to be able to use my identity in this place."

Rogue arched an eyebrow. "Ah'll have to keep that in mahnd an' watch what Ah say then."

Tessa smiled shyly. "I'm also a supernatural multi-tasker."

"Yeah?" Rogue asked suspiciously. "They have a mutation fohr that now too?"

Tessa nodded, very serious. "They do. I can process up to eight different things at one time and still function as well as if I were just focusing on one thing. I'm doing so right now, actually."

"Really?" Rogue asked, interested. "What're you doing, besides talking to meh?"

"I'm reviewing moves from my tai chi trainer that I'm going to teach you tomorrow, recalling the weather forecast for the weekend, sending a message to Shaw that you're awake and okay—he wanted to talk to you after I showed you around, going over a chess game I played just before you woke up while telling Zip what her exact errors were while playing, and listening to a video footage of a movie being replayed in my mind." Tessa shook her head dismissively. "Sorry about that last one—my mind wanders sometimes."

"Oh yeah?" Rogue asked, slightly disbelieving. "Well then, what's the weather for the week?"

"After today? Wednesday's heavy rain with a 16 percent chance of sun after three. High is 74, low's 62, humidity's at 29 percent with high probability for—"

"Okay, okay, Ah believe ya." Tessa smiled and her eyes twinkled. "Damn, Tess. You've got a lot of great mutations there. Anythin' else Ah should know about? Telepathic, teleporter, mutant ability advancer, projector of little holographic thingies, photographic memory _and_ the ability to multi-task at super-human levels—do ya know how insane that is? Is there anything ya _can't _do?"

"Fly." Tessa responded quickly. "I've always wanted to fly." She gave Rogue a longing stare. "I heard that you could do it."

"From who?" Rogue questioned, befuddled.

"On our way to this room, some of the guys were talking in the coffee room about you."

Rogue's eyebrows rose. "Right—multitasking. Well, they were lyin'. Ah certainly don't know how ta fly."

"Yes you do." Tessa protested.

Rogue paused. "…Actually, Ah'm pretty sure Ah can't."

Tessa looked slightly abashed again, but more so uncomfortable. "You, uh, sort of do." Rogue stared at her. "When you…uhm, when Carol forced herself on you, you got her flight ability along with her others." Rogue opened her mouth to speak, but Tessa hurried on. "I can sense that her powers are strong in you—stronger than the others, which means they're permanently in place. That's why they haven't gone away."

Rogue guffawed for a moment before she found her voice. "…why Ah still have her strength?" Tessa nodded and Rogue's brow suddenly furrowed in anger. "How do ya know all that about meh? Are ya going through mah thoughts, Tessa?"

"No! I swear I haven't been Rogue, I don't invade other people's privacy."

"Then how do ya know those things about meh?" Rogue asked accusingly.

Tessa was nervous, it was obvious. "Shaw…well, he followed you for a bit before he approached you."

Rogue's eyes narrowed. "Why?"

Tessa fidgeted. "We wanted to make sure that you were the one that our prophet spoke of."

"Prophet?" Rogue questioned. When Tessa just wringed her wrists nervously and bit down on her lip, Rogue sighed. "Tessa, ya gunna have to tell meh everythin'. How am Ah supposed to trust or work fohr this organization if Ah don' even know how or why ya came fohr meh? Fohr all Ah know, the Mutant Champions could have set up mah skewed psyches experience so that Ah would come to work fohr ya." _Now that Ah think about it…_Rogue pondered. _Elizabeth told meh there had been a disruption in the psyches strength. How did that happen?_

Tessa looked horrified that Rogue would even suggest something like that. "We would never—Rogue! I promise you that we would never manipulate you like that—we'd never manipulate anyone that way! We're about helping mutants here. Shaw only sent out people to follow you to make sure our prophet was right." Rogue gave her a look and she hurriedly continued. "You see, we have a mutant on our side that sees flashes of the future." _Gracie?!_ Rogue thought in alarm. "She saw that you had the potential for greatness—the potential to save us all. Shaw simply wanted to make sure that she was right. That's why he followed you."

Rogue could tell that Tessa believed what she was saying. The girl seemed mortified that Rogue would suggest sabotage. _Either this girl has no clue that this place could be dangerous, or maybe it's not, or…maybe she's faking it._ The thought struck Rogue and she blanched for a moment. _What if she's just here to make this place seem lihke a sanctuary? _Rogue asked herself. _She could be playing meh._

Rogue studied Tessa's expression after she had the thought to judge the girl's reaction. Tessa didn't react at all, which suggested two options. _Either she really doesn't intrude upon mah privacy or she's the world's best actress. _Rogue had an idea. "Tess."

Tessa looked up to her importantly. "Rogue?" She asked, somewhat tentative.

"Ah want ya to go into mah mahnd fohr a moment."

Tessa blanched. "What?"

"Look through mah thoughts." Rogue repeated.

Tessa was pale. "Why?"

"Jus' do it, Tess."

"Rogue—"

"Tess—" Rogue started.

The girl looked absolutely panicked and near tears. "Why are you asking me to do this?" Tessa asked, clearly stricken.

"Why are ya so afraid of doin' so?" Rogue questioned suspiciously.

Tessa turned her head down, away from Rogue's face and kicked at the ground. "I…I don't like going through people's minds." Tessa confessed. "It's like…being telepathic, people naturally distrust me. They always think I'm going to be snooping through their thoughts…that's why I don't have a lot of friends here. If I go through your thoughts…it's like, like cheating the process, you know? I don't get to know you by your actions and words and expressions, I know you because I've delved _into _your mind." She shuffled again self-consciously. "I don't like it like that. And intruding…it's just…just intrusive, you know. Why should I get to know all your secrets? If you want me to know something, you'll tell me it. I don't want to dig it out of you unwillingly."

Rogue could detect nothing in the girl that was telling her she was being untrue. Still, she had to be cautious. The girl could appear as innocent as a lamb and still have the teeth of a shark. "Ah won't make ya go through mah mahnd, then, Tess." Rogue conceded. Tessa glanced upward at her with a pitiful amount of hope in her eyes.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, Ah'm sorry fohr askin'." Rogue apologized. "Ah jus'…well, how's it feel when ya go through someone's mahnd? For them, Ah mean."

"Well, that depends on how hard someone's pressing for information or how discrete they want to be." Tessa replied thoughtfully.

"What about someone who wants ta be discrete? What's that feel lihke?"

Tessa was suddenly pale again. "Rogue, I…I'm really not looking through your thoughts." Her whole expression had fallen and she glanced around her, avoiding Rogue's eyes. Rogue thought she saw the beginnings of tears in the other girl's eyes. "I know you don't have reason to believe me or anything, but I'm really not. Plus, you'd be feeling a tingle at the back of your mind and sometimes random thoughts would come up as I was searching."

"Ah don't think you're lookin' through mah thoughts, Tess." Rogue assured the girl. _Ah really don't._ Rogue realized. For all the suspicions against her, Tessa seemed entirely honest and had done nothing to hint otherwise to gain Rogue's distrust. "Ah jus' wanted to know."

Tess didn't seem convinced by her words and was obviously disheartened. "Well," She started softly. "The tour ends here, you've seen it all now."

"Tess—" Rogue began.

Tessa turned away, hiding her face and hugging herself. "You're not required to start any training till tomorrow, so you're free for the rest of the day."

Rogue's thoughts raced. Tessa was obviously hurt by Rogue's questions and the assumed distrust she had showed. Rogue thought back to Tessa's words about not having many friends because nobody trusted telepaths. She felt deeply sorry for broaching the topic, but was now reasonably assured that Tessa wasn't out to get her. This would be far too much to act—Tess's feelings were genuine. "Will you—" Rogue hesitated, thinking. "uhm, come back to mah room with meh?" Rogue finished awkwardly, inwardly cursing at how stupid that sounded.

"Why?" Tessa asked sullenly. "Do you want me to bring you anything?" The remark was almost spiteful and obviously downtrodden.

"No." Rogue thought quickly. "Uh, we could, ya know, watch a movie or somethin'." Tessa's face lifted slightly, but she was still turned away from Rogue. Rogue continued on, trying to salvage the beginnings of friendship she had started with Tessa. "Ya know, Ah've got nothin' else to do an' Ah don' really know anyone else here, so that'd be cool, if we could jus'…hang out." Rogue frowned. "If there's a tv in the room." She added. "If not…"

Tessa turned then, the beginnings of a tentative smile returning to her face. "We don't need a TV."

"No?" Rogue asked questioningly.

Tessa's smile widened. "No—I'm projector girl, 'member? And I know every line of every movie that I've ever watched. I'll broadcast it on the wall."

"Okay." Rogue gave a small grin, wary. "Let's go to mah room then."

Tessa was quickly gaining back her confidence. "Kitchen first! For snacks."

Rogue nodded agreeably and the girls set off down the hall together.

---

**Shade was sleeping lightly in his quarters. **He was in his unshadowed mode, it was what he reverted to every time he went to rest. He couldn't maintain his shadow form in sleep. It took too much conscious energy to do so.

Callisto smiled softly as she entered the room silently. She loved her job, she truly did. Doing Shaw's dirty work was not work at all to her. It was an addiction, she knew, but one that she was happy to serve. After all, someone had to do the messy parts of the job. Why not let it be her?

Callisto hadn't always been this way, but a series of life changing events had made her into who she was. Some things couldn't be forgotten—and they shouldn't. It was these life changing events that shaped humanity and gave individual personality. Strip those from a person, and they would be a mechanic shell. Callisto's own hatred fueled her to complete the tasks she was given and cherish her abilities. She was an assassin, and a damn good one. Nobody was better than she in what she did. She was an expert.

Callisto drew out several blades from her inside jacket pocket and positioned the deadly weapon over Shade's chest. She thrust down the blade swiftly and Shade's eyes shot open as pain momentarily eclipsed every other feeling in his body. Callisto struck her second blade deep into his neck and Shade choked on blood as his last breath left him. His body fell limp against the bed. Callisto withdrew her blades and wiped them off on the front of Shade's shirt.

It was a pity, she knew. She had seen great potential in Shade, but she knew Shaw was right in the fact that he needed to be disposed of. The boy was completely ruled by his anger to the point that it destroyed him. He was just a pawn in the bigger picture. Callisto knew she herself was just a pawn too, but she'd never become stupid enough to outwear her use. It was ridiculous, really, that the darker members of the group let themselves get consumed.

Callisto was a part of the darker side of the Mutant Champions and she knew the workings that went on behind the scenes. On the outside, the Mutant Champions seemed like a haven. There was even a whole section of the group who knew absolutely nothing about the true workings. _Idiots,_ Callisto thought callously. There was no altruistic mutant haven group. Things got done with action, not silly hopes. Callisto knew that the only way to get their kind accepted was to dominate. It was the way things were supposed to work.

Nature was funny that way. Humans had finally evolved and they rejected their own evolution. Mutants were superior beings and belonged in charge of the inferior mutants. Callisto knew this could only be accomplished through force. There was no room for weakness in goals. She herself didn't have the resources to accomplish mutant superiority, but Shaw did. And he would lead them to glory.

Callisto grinned sadistically as she hefted Shade's body over her shoulder. The only way to get things done was to get your hands messy. It was a lesson that every Mutant Champion would soon learn.

---

"**Where is the restaurant?"** Peter asked warily, glancing around at the dumpy street. It was obviously not a nice side of town. "He would take a girl to here?" He was appalled at the notion.

"Well it's Longshot." Tabitha commented flippantly, picking at her nails. "He could take her to a strip bar and still get lucky."

Just then, a double set of doors across the street banged open and an enraged girl strode out. She was a tall, thin, beautiful blonde girl who was obviously displeased. Her jaw was set and her light green eyes were alighted with anger. Behind her, the doors flapped again as a tall blonde boy with darker green eyes followed, reaching after her. "Petra, come on!" The guy rushed to follow her.

"Leave me alone, Longshot!" The girl shouted, angry. She attempted to march away from him defiantly, but Longshot grabbed her wrist before she could escape and spun her around.

"It wasn't like I meant for it to happen." Longshot offered his hand that wasn't holding her wrist up in a surrender motion. "She kissed _me_."

"Ugh!" Petra reached back and slapped him across the face. Longshot caught her arm after the strike and held her steady as she struggled in his grasp. "Let me go, you—jerk!" She continued to struggle and kick at him until Longshot wrapped an arm around her back and pulled her up against his body. From there, he lowered his head and pressed his lips against her protests.

Petra's protests died as he kissed her passionately and he soon let go of her other wrist to wrap his arms around her. Petra's hands found his way into his hair as she kissed him back and held him with her. Tabitha shook her head at the spectacle. "Lucky bastard." After a long moment, both pulled away for breath and Petra inhaled strongly as Longshot smiled.

"You're a much better kisser, Petra."

Petra's eyes suddenly darkened again as the lovesick look died from her face. Her jaw set again and she pulled back her arm and slapped him again. "You're unbelievable!" She screeched, pulling out of Longshot's arms. She stumbled for a moment before regaining her feet and started to stalk off down the sidewalk again.

John chuckled. "Guess not."

"Petra!" Longshot called after her. "Where are you going? Come back!" He started jogging and easily caught up again before he slowed to walk beside her. "Come on, Petra, don't be mad."

Petra stopped and turned to face him angrily. "Don't be mad?! _Don't be mad?!_ Go back to your whore, Longshot! I hate you!" She made to stalk off again, but Longshot grabbed her by the shoulders.

"Petra, you know you're the only one for me." Petra glared at him petulantly. "I really didn't mean for her to kiss me."

Petra sucked down on her bottom lip and narrowed her eyes at him. "You led her on." She accused.

Longshot held up his hands again. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. Honest." Petra gave him one last hard look before Longshot held out his arms innocently. "I love you, Petra. Nobody else."

Petra allowed him to wrap his arms around her and pull her back into his embrace. She sighed against his shoulder and closed her eyes. Longshot smiled contently as he held his girlfriend comfortingly.

Tabitha rolled her eyes. "That guy—someone needs to put him in place sometime."

"Longshot!" Ororo called, strolling over to the couple. "Petra!"

The two mutants turned at the sound of their names and took a defensive stance before they saw Tabitha and Juggernaut behind her. Juggernaut strolled up to them silently, his eyes narrowed on the two as Tabitha, John, and Peter came up behind them. "What's up?" Longshot asked nonchalantly, keeping an arm around Petra's middle.

"We've got a new mission." Tabitha announced, speaking before Ororo could. "We're to liberate the X-Mansion."

Petra arched an eyebrow at John. "Isn't that the place we just stole you back from?"

John shrugged.

"Okay." Longshot shrugged too. "Let's get started then." Ororo eyed the group cagily. It was going to be an interesting trip, that much was sure.


	30. Captives

**Thunderbird blinked warily as several threatening figures came into focus around him. **He only recognized one: the man he had attacked in the hallway before being thrown unconscious. "Well, shit." He sighed deeply. "I guess this means I've become a hostage?"

"You've become an informant, bub." The feral one growled. Thunderbird could read the fury in his eyes and his appearance alone was enough to scare the wits out of a man. The man leaned forward to him threateningly, waving six inch long knives in his face that were sticking out of his knuckles.

"Whoa!" Thunderbird held up his hands in a surrender motion. "Let's skip this 'threatening' part of the game, okay? I didn't sign on to die for a cause. I'm just a soldier."

"Apparently not a very good one." The demon-eyed man snorted.

Thunderbird sat up on the table and glanced around warily. "I get a welcoming committee and everything?" He asked wryly, his eyes traveling from the feral mutant, to the demon, to a skinny white haired teen, until finally landing on a blue woman who had the body of a goddess and a young, cute girl. Thunderbird stared, momentarily lost in thought.

A hard blow to the side of his face broke him from his reservoir and he cried out in protest, clutching his jaw as it burned. "Hey!" He protested. "I said I'd tell you what you want! That automatically prevents you from being able to fairly hit the informant!" It was strange, hearing such a whiny protest from so big a man. He squeaked easily and obviously wasn't up for any kind of torture to get information. "I'm seriously reconsidering the benefits of this job." Thunderbird rubbed at his chin before his eyes fixed on the white haired kid. "What do you want to know?"

"Where did Shaw take Wanda and Erik?" The kid asked fiercely, fire burning in his eyes.

Thunderbird's eyebrows scrunched. "Who?"

He received another blow across the face. The kid's hand moved so far that he didn't even see it coming. "Ugh!" Thunderbird clutched at his jaw and inched away from the kid on his table. "Hey! I don't know who you're talking about, okay? I can't give you information I don't have!"

"You're lying!" The kid accused. He went for a third strike and Thunderbird was knocked off the table before he could even lift his finger in defense. "Tell me where they are!"

_Well, shit! What the hell am I gunna say to this kid?_ Thunderbird wondered idly. He backed up on the floor away from him as the kid advanced and the others followed, seemingly having no problem with the kid's tactics. "And you're gunna tell us where Rogue is." The feral mutant added, creeping upon him beside the white haired one.

_Rogue! Now there's a name I recognize! _Thunderbird thought in relief. "I know who and where Rogue is!" Thunderbird cried in triumph, desperate to stop the punk kid from striking him again. The feral mutant stilled his companion with a hand as he walked forward, closer to Thunderbird. Thunderbird's back hit the wall and he stopped backing up abruptly.

"Tell me everything." The feral guy snarled.

"Rogue's the mutant that's going to be able to save us all." Thunderbird intoned. "She's the hope for the future of mutants. You can't reach her, where she is though." The guy brought up his claws in front of Thunderbird's face and he rushed on. "She's being held in a space compartment outside of normal time! Shaw has many bases, but he'd take her to this one. He had Diliate open up a rip in the fabric of time and built a base inside there. It's inaccessible to everyone who's not in the elite group of the Mutant Champions."

The feral mutant's eyes were narrowed and shining with hatred. "What do you mean—a rip in time?"

"It's…" Thunderbird thought for a way to describe it. "I suppose you could think of it as an alternate universe, but it's not really. It's just this space that Shaw had Diliate cast into a slower time dimension. That way he can train up Rogue to be the hero of our race without wasting much time."

The mutant growled. "What are you sayin'? That Rogue's been stopped in time?"

Thunderbird gave him a droll look, despite his better judgment. "Okay, let's be realistic here. That's not even possible." The mutant growled at him and Thunderbird suddenly found himself on the receiving end of claws pressed against his neck. "Whoa! Dude! I'm sorry! I didn't mean that!" The mutant growled again and Thunderbird felt the claws cutting into his skin. "She's not frozen in time or anything!" Thunderbird hurried on, worried for his life's sake. "She's just at a base where every moment is elongated. Time's slowed at her location, not stopped!" He squeaked femininely. "Please move those claws man, I'm helping you!"

The claws didn't move. "So she's been there for _hours_ now and while we've been here?"

"Well I don't know how much it's slowed." Thunderbird confessed. "Just that it is."

"Where is this place?" The mutant growled. The mere glint in his eye was enough to make any man wet himself.

Thunderbird cowed. "You can't reach there, man! It's impossible to get in without being Elite and registered for that place!"

"But _you_ can get in." The man growled.

"Do I look like an Elite member?" Thunderbird spewed incredulously. "I can't enter just as you can't, man!" The man's jaw set in anger, but finally, the claws withdrew. Behind him, the white haired kid stepped up again.

"Is that where Wanda and Erik are?"

"I don't know who that is!" Thunderbird howled in frustration, fearing being hit again. "I'd tell you if I knew, I would!" The kid looked unsatisfied with the answer.

"They're captives of your damn leader!" The boy roared. Thunderbird flinched away.

"The Mutant Champions don't take captives, man, I don't know what you're talking about."

The boy roared in fury and Thunderbird expected to be hit again before the cute teenage girl walked up beside him and put a hand on his shoulder, holding him back. "He's telling the truth." She offered quietly.

"You don't know that!" The boy turned his fury to her. Thunderbird was grateful for the exchange.

The feral one sighed. "Yes, he is."

The demony-eyed one frowned at this as the blue goddess made her way to the feral one's side. "Dat's not acceptable." He said, speaking with a thick Cajun accent. The demon man knelt beside Thunderbird and Thunderbird winced away, fearful of his possessed eyes. The man's eyes hardened at him. "Y' gunna have t' do better, _homme._"

"I don't—" Thunderbird started, but the demon man cut him off.

"Remy don' entirely understand what y' sayin' 'bout de rip in time, but he been a thief long enough t' know dat no place is unbreakable. Where is dis rip dat y' leader made?"

"It's somewhere in the city." Thunderbird held up his hands in surrender. "I don't know exactly, I'm not Elite. I just know what I've overheard."

The feral one stood behind his comrade, Remy, and grunted. "Ya think we can somehow break into the time warp, Cajun? You got some kind of ace up your sleeve?"

Remy chuckled at the analogy. "Remy always got de ace. Dis place he talkin' 'bout. It can't be unbreakable—mutants gotta be comin' an' goin' from it if it's jus' a buildin' thrown outa de normal time spectrum. 'M guessin' dat we could do de same--jus' walk in."

"I don't think you'll be able to find it." Thunderbird said, climbing to his feet and rubbing his neck where three little pinpricks of blood had formed. "I mean, you'd be able to see it an' everything—slowing time in and around the building doesn't make it invisible, but how do you intend to locate it when you don't even know what it looks like or where to look?"

"Wit' y' help." Remy grinned slyly and Thunderbird had a sudden urge to run. _Could this day get any worse?_ He groaned inwardly as the Cajun grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him back to them.

"Now, _homme,_ where's de branch in de Mutant Champions dat y' go t'?" Remy smiled softly, he had a plan.

---

**Gracie shivered and pulled her legs in closer.** She glanced up at the door again and held back a grimace of the memory of trying to get away. Clearly that wasn't meant for her.

It wasn't as if they had made her especially uncomfortable. No, they had provided a nice, big bed with an adjoin bathroom and shower that she could use as she pleased. There wasn't anything to do though, so that gave her time to think. And time to think made her think of what might be happening to Marie.

All that she had been told these past few days flickered through her mind endlessly. One thing that the purple haired woman had told her—Elizabeth? –stuck in particular.

_Rogue is not your sister. She's the daughter of Logan and Mystique._

Gracie didn't know who Logan and Mystique were, but they sure as hell weren't her parents. She was just so confused; she didn't know what to believe. Elizabeth claimed to be on her side, but wasn't it her fault that she'd been caught in the first place? Gracie was sure she could have hid when 'they'—whoever they were—had been coming for her. Instead, Elizabeth knocked her out and handed her over. What kind of ally was that?

She couldn't really believe that Marie wasn't her sister. One only had to look at the girls to deduce their common ancestry. Honestly, they looked exactly alike—well, almost. Marie had always been bigger busted than her and taller. Gracie used to envy her green eyes too. She had always wanted green eyes herself.

But all the same—didn't that mean they had to be sisters? It couldn't be coincidence that they grew up in the same household together and had almost the same looks. No, it wasn't. Gracie didn't remember Marie getting adopted—she had always been there. And their parents had never said anything about the matter either. _You would think it's something worth mentioning if your sister was adopted._

Gracie was scared for her sister. Who knew what was happening to her at this exact moment? Gracie didn't know who had come for her or how, but, judging by the shield outside the door that literally had thrown her back inside, she wasn't denying the idea that these people were afraid to hurt her—or whoever else they caught.

Gracie hugged herself tighter at the thought and tried to think of a reason that anyone would want to take Marie. Images of her vision of Marie in power kept flitting through her mind, but Gracie dismissed those. That couldn't be right—that vision's accuracy had been destroyed when Wanda had died. Nothing in it was true. The fate had been altered…right?

Gracie shook her head. Even if some part of the vision were still true, it wasn't this group. This group wanted to take Marie, by force if necessary, and she couldn't see Marie actually working for these people, no matter what. _Unless…_

_Does Marie know that Ah'm a hostage?_ Gracie's thoughts raced. She knew the kind of person her sister was. Always self sacrificing for others and she always did the right thing. _What if they're using meh ta get ta her?_ Gracie thought in alarm. The thought was enough to make her spring up from the bed and find her way to her feet again.

Gracie paced in front of the door, speculating. _What if Ah throw somethin' at it?_ Gracie glanced around the room for an object she could throw. There was pitifully little in the room, especially that she'd be able to lift and pitch at the shield behind the door. Biting down on her lip, Gracie went over to the dresser. There was nothing on the outside that she could use—not even a lamp. The only light in the room came from the light above and Gracie was hesitant about taking away her only electric source.

She opened the top drawer and found it empty. Dejected, Gracie slapped it shut and opened the middle drawer below it. Also empty. _Is there nothin' ta throw in this place?!_ She wondered, aggravated.

Gracie pulled open the bottom drawer, and to her surprise, found a worn Bible inside. _Aha!_ Gracie pulled out the Bible triumphantly, but then deflated. _Ah can't throw a Bible._ _What if God smites meh fohr disobedience?_

Gracie was torn between her religious upbringing and situational needs. _How ironic is it that there's even a Bible in here? These people are obviously not religious. _Out loud, Gracie called out tentatively. "Ah'm sorry, God, but situational stress calls for desperate measures. Don't smite meh, okay?" Feeling somewhat reassured that God had at least heard her, Gracie opened the door again.

Just outside, a blue light enveloped the exit and cut off all forms of exit. "Trah this on fohr size!" Gracie called out to her unknown captors. With that said, she hauled back her arm and threw the Bible at the shield.

The Bible hit the blue force field and rebounded back at twice the speed. It hit Gracie in the stomach forcefully and knocked her to the ground. "Uff!" Gracie protested, losing her footing and collapsing to the ground. The Bible landed a few feet over, cover up and unopened, staring. "Ah said Ah was sorry!" Gracie cried in frustration.

Suddenly there was a sound of thumping feet and a man walked through the blue shield and into the bedroom. Gracie's jaw dropped as she sputtered at him. "H-How did ya do that?"

The man was of average height and build. He had a clean cut jaw and a little stubble dotting his chin. His hair was short and fluffy and bright blue. His piercing blue eyes glowed with power and Gracie speculated that he might be the guy who had put up the shield in the first place. He was carrying a plate of food and a water bottle. He set both down on the dresser, walking right past her without a care, before turning around and extending a hand to help her up.

Gracie glared at him darkly. She took his hand to help herself up then jumped at the man when she had clambered to her feet. She reached back to pummel him and the guy chuckled. "Feisty little thing, aren't you?" Gracie yelled in frustration when he grabbed both her wrists and held them above her head. She kicked at his shins—the highest point she could reach—before he moved out of her range and up behind her. "Calm down, would you? You're not going to be able to overcome me."

Gracie fought to get free of his grasp, but after several minutes it was clear that he had her pinned. She huffed in defeat and sagged against him. "Done now?" The man asked with a chuckle. Gracie nodded sourly and he released her with a little push to get her back to her bed. "Go on, sit down. Don't be so fretful."

Gracie glowered at him. "Ah'll get you for kidnappin' meh! This is illegal, ya know!"

He smiled graciously at her and pointed to her food tray. "You should probably eat something if you plan on taking me out. Save up your strength."

The food was awfully tempting, but Gracie didn't make a move to grab it. "It's poisoned." She accused.

"What would the point of kidnapping you be if it was poisoned?" The man asked logically. Gracie gritted her teeth at him and crossed her arms. The guy smiled warmly. "You remind me of my daughter." He complimented. Gracie kept her hard glare firmly in place, unwilling to give the man any advantage. "My name is Greg." He introduced himself. "It's nice to meet you."

"It most certainly is not!" Gracie stubbornly refused to give him any courtesy.

Greg folded his hands together. "I understand. I'd be pretty upset if I'd been kidnapped too. I'll leave you to your meal then." He turned to the door to go.

"Hey, wait!" Gracie called, unable to stop herself. She dropped the stubborn stance. She had been in this room alone for hours now with nothing to do and no one to talk to. His presence presented something different, at least. Greg paused and looked back at her.

"Yes?"

"Well…ya don't have ta go…" Gracie tried weakly.

Greg grinned. "Want some company?" Gracie sighed, defeated again. Greg returned back to the bed and sat on the foot of the mattress. "So, you're Gracie?"

Gracie snorted. "Well ya bettah hope so, otherwise ya kidnapped tha wrong gal." Gracie frowned. "Who are ya, anyway?"

Greg offered her a hapless shrug. "Just Greg, father of a little one like yourself, trying to work up some money for the little monkey for when she gets out of school."

"So Ah'm a job."

"I suppose you could say that, if you want to be brash about it." Greg's eyes twinkled as the light reflected off their glowing surface.

"How would ya put it?" Gracie challenged.

Greg shrugged again. "I like to think we're just safekeeping you for a little bit. Being Rogue's sister—or at least, half sister, there are some players out there who'd want to hurt you."

"So this is fohr mah own good?" Gracie eyed him suspiciously. "Right. And Ah'm Mary Popins about ta hit ya with mah umbrella."

Greg chuckled. "It's true—I'm here to protect you." He offered her his hand. "Your certified bodyguard."

"Uh-huh." Gracie shook her head. "Ya don't work fohr tha government, do ya?"

Greg shook his head with a grin. "No, nothing like that. I champion for a cause—the Mutant Champions."

"Har har—champion for the Champions." Gracie actually had to repress a laugh at his 'cute' humor. "So this is what Mutant Champions do? They protect people who need no such service?"

"I'd say we protect those in need, but you can put it however which way you want."

Gracie snorted again. "At least ya could provide some sort of entertainment fohr meh. Ah've been sittin' here fohr hours!" She grudgingly inched towards the food he had brought her. Greg good-naturedly pretended to be studying the bed pattern as she did so.

"I can see about getting you some books." Greg offered, then his eyes went to the Bible that was on the floor. "Though it appears you've got something against inanimate words."

Gracie blushed. "Ah was…testin'."

Greg smiled softly. "I'll have to ask that you don't 'test' if I get you some more books." Gracie huffed again then bit into her sandwich while Greg was still looking at the bedspread.

"How long are ya gunna be watchin' for mah safety?" Gracie asked irritably. "Ah'm not a little hapless puppy ya know."

Greg gave her another gentle grin. "I'm sure you can take care of yourself."

"Damn straight!" Gracie interjected

"But I don't know how long." Greg continued. "Probably until your sister finishes up her work with us. You're less likely to get targeted once we're done."

"Done with what?"

"Making the States a mutant Utopia."

"Great." Gracie scowled. "Ah'll be here fohr the rest of mah life."

Greg laughed again. "You're cute." He stood up off the edge of the bed. "Well, I'll be around Gracie. Got some stuff to finish up before the day's out. I'll come back in a little bit to collect up the trash and give you those books, alright?"

Gracie grumbled, but acknowledged him as he went. "See ya then." He left, leaving Gracie alone to her thoughts once more.

---

"**Ah don't realistically remember the Terminator's muscles bein' so big."** Rogue yawned sleepily.

Next to her on the mattress, Tessa smiled softly, fiddling with a crossword puzzle as the projection played out on the opposite wall. "It's true. You know Arnold Schwarzenegger's actually a mutant. Nobody's aware of it though, not even him."

Rogue turned her eyes from the video, interested. "No way."

Tessa nodded, circling a word on the crossword. "It's true. I met him in person once and I sensed his mutant capabilities."

"Wow." Rogue echoed softly. "That's intense—imagine if California knew they had elected a mutant!"

Tessa chuckled softly before Rogue rolled over on the bed, turning her head back to the screen. "Ya know, these movies are all unrealistic." Tessa glanced at her out of the corner of her eye and Rogue clarified. "Not your projection of them—the movies themselves."

Tessa circled another word on the crossword. She only had two left to go. "How do you figure?"

"Well," Rogue started. "Take the Fantastic Four fohr example. No one would really react that way ta their powers—they'd jus' take 'em to be mutants an' nobody makes us out to be heroes."

Tessa grinned softly before her eyes landed on another word and she began to circle it. Once circled, her eyes scanned the paper expertly and her tongue inched out of the side of her mouth in concentration. Rogue didn't know if she was aware of it, but it made her chuckle softly.

"Don't make fun of me." Tessa blushed, pulling her tongue back in her mouth. "I'm sure you wear some ridiculous expression when you're concentrating too—and I'll get to laugh at it all tomorrow while training you."

Rogue giggled nonetheless. "Pass the skittles, Tess."

Without looking up from her crossword, Tessa reached out her left hand and handed the bag over to Rogue. Rogue observed her for a moment before spilling some of the candies out onto the bed and picking out the red ones. "It's really amazin'." Rogue commented absently. "How ya doin' all this stuff at once." She gestured towards the projection, Tessa's crossword, and the bag of skittles.

The edges of Tessa's mouth quirked upwards at her comment and her eyes alighted seconds afterwards. "Gotcha, bitch!" She circled the last word on her puzzle and grinned victoriously. "Shaw wants to talk to you now, by the way." Tessa slipped out of the bed. "He's on his way over."

"What about?" Rogue asked warily. Shaw gave her the creeps. Although he had held up his end of the bargain fair and square, she didn't necessarily like the man. Any guy who couldn't be hurt by physical force was a man to stay away from. It was great that he ran the Mutant Champions, but that also put the guy at a high position of power. She didn't even know if the group was trustable yet, let alone its leader.

Tessa shrugged. "He probably just wants to welcome you."

"Uh-huh." Rogue muttered. Tessa glanced up at her with a confused look, but before she could ask Rogue what she meant by that, the door to the room opened. In walked Shaw. The man was meticulous about his appearance. His black hair was combed back in a curt, no nonsense look and his blue eyes were like ice shards. His suit, which was obviously an expensive tux, was spotless. Not a speck of dust or lint colored the dark material. Rogue sat up at his appearance, distinctly unnerved.

"I'll be back," Tessa imitated the Terminator and grinned before she left. She closed the door behind her on her way out.

Rogue made to stand up, but Shaw waved her down. "It's okay. You need not stand for my presence, Rogue. Much rather I should bow to yours." Despite his words, he made no move to do so and Rogue got the feeling that he liked the height superiority he heralded over her while she sat. "I've just come to welcome you to our operations here. I trust Tessa has been a good guide?"

Rogue nodded slowly, unsure of herself. "Yeah…she's great." She felt very intimidated in this man's presence.

"I'm glad." Shaw held his hands together as his lips thinned and tightened. "I'm here to speak about our arrangement, Rogue."

Rogue felt her throat constrict slightly. "What about it?"

Shaw cleared his throat. "I'm sure Tessa has shown you proof that your friend is alive and well, but sedated." Rogue nodded once. "As much as I'd like to believe you'd honor our bargain for her life, I'm a realist and I realize that serving us, no matter how beneficial it is to our race or how much good you'll be doing, might not be your first priority, especially if your friends were to…interfere on your behalf."

Rogue swallowed thickly. "Ah made a bargain. Ah'll keep mah end."

Shaw clicked his teeth. "Yes, you will." A shiver went up Rogue's back and the fine hairs on her neck stood on end. "I don't want to appear as threatening or imposing Rogue, but I had to make sure I have your full cooperation with our team."

Rogue's throat closed up some more and she was finding it hard to breathe. "What…what does that mean? Ya promised not to hurt mah friends."

Shaw smiled thinly. "As I recall, I promised not to _kill_ any of your friends and not to hurt Wanda while giving her around the clock care. All of those specifications have been fulfilled. What you did not clarify, however, was your half-sister."

Rogue's eyes widened. "What did ya do to Gracie?" Rogue asked in horror, her voice dry and husky. "If ya hurt her—"

Shaw waved her off before she could finish. "Gracie is not hurt and she's safe. She will simply serve as a controlling measure for you." Shaw stared her down coldly. "Do you understand?"

Rogue's voice trembled. "So long as Ah follow ya orders…"

Shaw nodded. "She will be fine. When your service to me is up, I will release both her and Wanda.

Rogue shut her eyes and clenched her teeth. Shaw was a dirty trickster, she had known it. He would virtually control everything she did. Rogue swallowed as she realized the extent of her sentence. She would be a slave until the end of this. "When is mah service up to ya?"

Shaw smiled cruelly. "That depends on you." He turned to leave, but stopped before opening the door. "And Rogue?" Rogue said nothing, waiting for him to speak. "I appreciate it if you don't mention our conversation to Tessa. She is unaware of some of the Champions' activities and I rather keep it that way, as she is a most valuable asset to me. I do not think you would want anything bad happening to her, on account of some slipped information from you." Shaw smiled softly at her continued silence. "I will speak to you again soon, Rogue. Thank you for your understanding of the situation." He left.

Rogue sat on the bed alone, suddenly feeling as if she were drowning. Shaw held all the cards—he had Wanda _and_ Gracie as hostages and would use that to make her do whatever he wanted. Rogue inhaled deeply, trying to keep her heart from pounding.

She sat that way for a few minutes before Tessa bounced back into the room, balancing a new plate of snacks and reading a book while the projection on the wall flared up again. "Hey Rogue." She called absentmindedly; her gaze flickered away from the page and fell on Rogue's frozen figure. "Hey, are you okay?" She asked uncertainly, pausing the projection and setting down the platter on the edge of the bed while sitting down.

Rogue shook her head to clear it. "Yeah, Ah'm fahne." She put on a fake smile and tried to make it look genuine.

Tessa pursed her lips, not entirely buying it, but she let it drop. "What did Shaw want?"

"He…" Rogue cleared her throat. "He just wanted to welcome meh, lihke ya said.

Tessa smiled warmly. "He's a pretty nice man, cares about all his members and such. A good guy."

Rogue nodded agreeably, feeling faint. "Yeah…a good guy."


	31. Enough

"**Rogue, time to wake up."** Tessa walked into the bedroom and observed Rogue sprawled out over the king sized bed. The blanket was half covering her legs, but most of it was pooled at the floor. Some skittles were still on the mattress and the leftovers from last night's movie marathon were carelessly thrown on the counter. Some had even tipped over and fell on the floor. "Well, look at this mess." Tessa shook her head. "Not even here for a day and it already looks like my room."

Tessa began to pick up the rubbish from their movies yesterday and piled it all on top of one of the plates they had been using. She brushed the skittles off the mattress and onto the platter before going into the adjoining bathroom and dumping all the garbage. Tessa put the plate by the sink and made a mental note to take it out after she'd woken Rogue up.

"Alright girlfriend, sleepy time's over." Tessa walked over to the bedside and lightly shook Rogue by the shoulder. "No one likes a lazy daisy."

Rogue groaned softly and rolled away from the offending appendage. "Jus' a few more minutes, Kit." Not two seconds after she said it, Rogue's eyes shot open and she blinked blearily. "What?"

"No Kit here, buddy. Come on, s'time to get up." Tessa pulled the blanket off Rogue's legs and Rogue curled up protectively, cold.

"Tessa?" Rogue asked, still half asleep. "What's goin' on?"

"It's wake up time, is what's going on! Come on, up you get." She was folding the blanket.

Rogue rolled over again and came face-to-face with an alarm clock on the right hand side of her bed. She blinked experimentally, trying to clear her eyes enough to read the fuzzy numbers. "Ah think the alarm clock's broken." Rogue mumbled when she had blinked several times and the numbers didn't change.

Tessa glanced up at the clock in the middle of her chores. "It's not wrong, Rogue."

Rogue blinked and frowned. "Why are ya wakin' meh up at ten at night? Did Ah even sleep?"

"Time isn't exactly the same here."

"What's that mean?" Rogue asked warily.

"Shaw asked that one of our mutants-Diliate to be exact—slow time in and around the building. So actually, more time passes in here while it progresses at its normal speed outside."

Rogue blinked. "Wait…that's confusing. Are we moving in slow motion or…?"

Tessa giggled. "No, nothing silly like that." Tessa put down the folded blanket on the foot of Rogue's bed. "She just slowed time all around the building…you could say we're moving really fast, though that's not precisely true either. You've been sleeping here for eight hours, but technically, on the outside at least, you've only been out for about two." Tessa shrugged. "I'm guessing your body's sleep cycle is not really adjusted to the difference. It might seem like you've only slept a little bit." She gestured towards the bathroom. "Go on then, get ready for the day. The water's hot, so don't worry about that."

Rogue's forehead wrinkled as she attempted to contemplate what Tessa was telling her. _So time in this buildin' is four times slower than normal time? That's insane!_ Rogue blinked as Tessa shooed her off the bed and directed her into the bathroom. Rogue went without further comment while Tessa babbled away until Rogue got into the bathroom. _Ah could be here for four days an' it'd only be a day out there._ Rogue realized with a start as the bathroom door shut behind her.

_Cherie, dat definitely not a good ding._ Remy's familiar voice floated throughout her mind and soothed Rogue's nerves.

_They're probably doin' it to give ya more time to train._ Logan speculated. _With four times the amount of normal time passing in that place, that also limits disruption from outsiders as well._

_Yeah…now that we know what Shaw's really about. _Rogue began the normal preparations one makes when about to shower. _He's got Gracie…_

_He won' hurt de fille._ Remy soothed. _He wants y' t' do his dirty work, den he won't hurt her._

_Ah'll be okay, Rogue. Ya don't have ta worry about meh._ Gracie attempted a smile. _Well, other meh. Ah cahn handle whatever they throw at meh._

_As long as Ah do what Ah'm told._ Rogue shivered and turned the knob on the water, making it hotter.

_You shouldn't have made that deal, Rogue._ Logan echoed gravely.

Rogue's fists tightened as she pressed them up against the shower wall, closing her eyes and absorbing the feeling of hot water pouring against her skin. _How long do ya think he's gunna keep meh?_ Rogue wondered.

_Har' t' tell wit' a man like dat._ Remy speculated. _I'm surprised he even wants y' t' lead de dirty work, chere. A man like dat is all about power—him givin' up any o' it t' y' for any reason is suspicious._

_Umm…_Gracie's nervousness was obvious and it always reflected in her voice when she was anxious. _What about that vision Ah had of Rogue?_

_De one wit' moi? _Remy grinned broadly. _Y' still got t' talk t' Remy about dat, chere._

_Not that one, smartass._ Logan called him out as Rogue's cheeks colored at the memory of Remy's lips on her own. He had been so gentle with her, so caring… _Hey!_ Logan snapped. _Let's focus here; Gracie's bringing up a good point._

Rogue shook her head to clear her mind of the memory. _What vision are ya'll talkin' about?_

_Ah didn't show it ta ya._ Gracie started tentatively. _Ah figured it was jus' one of mah fluke visions. After Wanda…well, after she died it kindah blanked it out, but now…_

_Now she's back again._ Remy finished, losing his earlier humor. _An' de vision could come int' play._

_Will ya'll jus' tell meh what vision ya talkin' about already?_ Rogue smarted irritably.

_Gracie saw Wanda kill y'._ Remy swallowed. _After y' absorbed a ton o' mutants an' became really powerful._

Rogue's throat went dry at the thought. Wasn't that what she was here for? She was supposed to absorb a bunch of mutants and become the ultimate 'protector' for mutant-kind. If Gracie had seen that, did that mean the other part of her vision was true, too? _That can't…it's not right. _Rogue struggled through it. _Maybe ya only saw that vision 'cause of our fight._ Rogue suggested hopefully.

Logan winced. _She saw it before that ever happened._

_Well…_Rogue swallowed thickly. _It's not gunna happen lihke that. Once Ah find out where Wanda an' Gracie are, Ah'll go free 'em mahself an' get us all outa this. An' Ah'm sure ya'll are lookin' fohr meh too._ Rogue pointed out. _Ya'll probably lookin' for Wanda an' Gracie as well…_

Remy tried to reassure her. _'M sure Remy'll notice Gracie's absence, Roguey. We'll fin' de fille._

Rogue sighed. _When did life get so complicated?_

There was a loud, whip-cracking noise right outside the shower and Rogue whipped around on the spot, accidentally hitting the wall with the side of her hand as she did so. The titles cracked where her hand hit and Rogue pulled back her knuckles in alarm. _Shit!_ Rogue's heart was racing a mile a minute and she put a hand up against her chest to breathe in and calm down. "Tessa?" Rogue asked.

"Sorry, just giving you some clean clothes." Tessa called from behind the curtain. "I didn't mean to alarm you—you alright in there?"

Rogue breathed out again and stared at the tiles she had cracked where the back of her hand had hit. "Ah'm alright, jus'…ya startled meh, is all."

"M'kay. I'm about to go." Tessa warned her. Still, when the loud cracking noise reverberated through the bathroom for a second time, Rogue flinched.

_Mon Dieu, look at dose tiles! _Remy exclaimed. _Dat's some strength y' got, fille. Remy's glad y' didn't have dat when y' attacked him—Y' woulda knocked him clean outa y' mind with dat power! Remind me not t' startle y' when y' see me, chere!_

Rogue colored again slightly.

Logan growled lowly. _Enough, Cajun. _In the background of her mind, she heard Gracie giggling.

_Hey,_ Rogue felt Remy holding up his hands innocently. _Remy won' be able t' help it if de fille is excited t' see him again wh-_

_Cajun!_ Logan roared. _I said enough!_

Remy patted his chest as if hurt. _Y' dislike scars dis Cajun—what've y' got against Remy anyway?_

Logan narrowed his eyes at him and Rogue knew he was about to go off on the lithe mutant when she interrupted. _Stop fightin', boys._ She reprimanded. _Jus'…go do whatever it is ya do in there._

_Sorry, Rogue._ Logan apologized, shooting a dark glare at Remy.

_Come 'ere, Gracie. Remy'll show y' how t' gamble._ Rogue was somewhat appalled at the notion of Remy teaching her little sister how to play cards, but she figured it wouldn't really hurt because Gracie wouldn't really be receiving the lessons so she let him go with it.

Rogue found soaps, shampoo, conditioner, shaving cream, and a razor along the side wall in the shower. _They're providin' everythin' fohr meh._ Rogue thought wryly.

_Not everythin'_ Remy hinted suggestively. Rogue had to hold back a chuckle as she felt her sister slap the cocky mutant.

She finished up her shower within the half hour and turned off the water. Rogue poked her head behind the curtain and saw two towels stacked on top of a fresh batch of clothes. Quickly snatching up the towels, she dried herself off before inspecting the clothes.

They were sensible workout clothes. Comfortable sweats and a white camisole. There were no gloves. Rogue colored again when she saw the undergarments, but it was sensible enough that they'd provide her a new closet of all she'd need. Rogue dressed quickly and was surprised at how well everything fit. She glanced around the bathroom, looking for her old clothes to pull on her gloves when another whip-crack broke the air.

Rogue stumbled back, eyes wide, surprised once again. "Tess, ya've got ta stop doin' that! What if Ah had been naked?" She cried.

Tessa giggled. "Sorry—here, I brought you this." She handed Rogue a hair dryer along with some toiletries that Rogue would need. "Breakfast's ready when you are."

"Uh—Tess." Rogue stopped the girl before she went to the door, hugging her arms close to her chest self-consciously. "Do ya know where mah gloves are?"

"You don't need them right yet." Tessa informed her. "After breakfast you're going to be touching a few mutants anyway, then you and me are gunna work on getting them all under control." She observed Rogue self-consciously hugging her arms to herself. "Don't be so nervous, Rogue."

"Ah jus'…"

Tessa gave her a sympathetic look. "I know you might be uncomfortable without them, Rogue, but it's really alright. You should get comfortable without them."

"Mmm." Rogue gave her a doubtful look.

"I'll get you gloves soon, 'kay? For now, just keep it cool." With that, Tessa turned and left through the door instead of popping away.

_That was weird._ Rogue thought awkwardly as she picked up the hair dryer. Twenty minutes later, her hair was dried, teeth brushed, she had used the toilet and had scrubbed up her hands. Rogue shivered as the fine hairs on her arms rose, unaccustomed to the feel of cool air as she strode out of the bathroom.

On her nightstand was another tray of food. Rogue glanced around the room speculating, blinking a few times. "Ya cleaned mah room?" Rogue asked, astounded.

Tessa shrugged. "Comes with the job."

Rogue frowned. "Ya really don' have to do that, Tess."

"I don't mind. It's not like I can't get it done while doing other things as well." Tessa nodded to the plate on her nightstand. "That's yours, by the way."

"Did you eat already?" Rogue asked tentatively.

Tessa nodded. "Yeah, while I cleaned. I'm good."

"Okay…" Rogue said awkwardly. She felt weird eating in front of Tessa alone, but sat down on the well-made bed anyway and started in on an orange that was already nicely cut into slices. "So…what exactly's goin' on today? How many mutants am Ah…" she trailed off, nervously biting down into the orange slice.

Tessa seated herself on the edge of the bed. "Don't worry—not a lot today. I have to work with you on your other powers too, so it'll just be a few today."

"Mah other powers?" Rogue questioned, taking a deep swig of water before grabbing a cinnamon bagel off the plate.

Tessa nodded. "From the people you've already absorbed." Tessa studied Rogue's face as Rogue fought to keep a neutral look and bit into the bagel. Slowly, Tessa frowned. "Are you that disturbed, Rogue? I can go ask Shaw if we can push back your training another day—"

Rogue shook her head vigorously. "No, that's okay Tess. Ah'm ready fohr it today." The last thing she wanted to do was get Tessa in trouble for her hesitation. "Ah'm jus' nervous, Ah suppose."

Tessa didn't seem to be buying it. "Are you sure?" She asked Rogue gently. "Why are you nervous?"

"Ah jus' don' like touchin' people." Rogue confessed. "It's lihke you with ya telepathy—like cheatin' the process—an' Ah know it'll be all controlled an' such, but Ah really jus' don' lihke it. What if someone's hurt from meh? An' the last thing Ah want is more psyches ta contend wit'."

Tessa wore a sympathetic look. "I can promise you that no one will get seriously injured. And I'll help you with your psyches, too. I can re-sturdy the barriers in your mind so you don't catch simple odd thoughts from them. As for cheating the process…I know how that feels and I'm sorry you'll be going through it."

Rogue swallowed another bite of the cinnamon bagel as her mind worked, staring at Tessa. _How cahn she not know what this place is really about? She's a telepath!_

To her surprise, Carol answered her from her mind. _She said she didn't like lookin' into others thoughts. _She pointed out logically. _Shaw's using her aversion to entering people's minds to his advantage._

It made sense and Shaw was underhanded enough to do it. Rogue put down the last bite of her bagel. "Okay, Ah'm ready. Where to?"

Tessa gave her another doubtful look before standing herself. "To the Practice Arena." Rogue followed dutifully as Tessa led the way through the winding halls. _Gunna have ta get to know these halls._ Rogue told herself silently. It might be critical information for later use, to get to know this place.

_Remy's got dem down, fille, don' worry._

_Thanks Remy._ Logan grunted at the exchange, but no more was said as Rogue followed Tessa to the Practice Arena. Tessa verified herself at the scanner and the two entered the Arena as the doors slid shut behind them. Several mutants were already in the room waiting.

As Rogue approached with Tessa, one mutant with beady black eyes stepped ahead of the others and fell to his knees before her. "Oh, Chosen One." He groveled at her feet. "We've awaited your arrival now for so long. Lead us to victory!"

Rogue stepped back a foot, unsure of how to exactly deal with this as she glanced at Tessa. Tessa frowned and grabbed the back of the man's shirt and hoisted him up. "Come now, Argus, don't scare the girl."

Argus bowed low to Rogue. "My apologies, Magnificent One." Tessa rolled her eyes at the display, but Rogue was significantly disturbed. Tessa waved her over and Rogue hurried over to her before Argus could say anything else. Tessa motioned Argus into a single chair in the room.

Argus sat obediently. Tessa nodded at the chair. "That's so you just don't get dizzy or anything." She told him, Tessa glanced back over to Rogue. "As you see, you'll only be absorbing three today. After each, I'll escalate your skill with their mutations and give you control over them with not so much as a simple thought—and I'll help push your psyches back with the initial contact, okay?" Rogue nodded, biting her lip and staring at the three mutants behind Tessa. "Then I'm going to work with you one-on-one for your other powers. It's going to hurt a bit when I escalate your control—I'm speeding up the normal process of evolution and heightening your abilities, so it's going to be uncomfortable, but I'm here for you."

"Okay."

Tessa glanced at the chair. "Argus, come on, you're first."

"_I_ have the first honor of touching the Savior One?" He asked in awe, again bowing down his head. Tessa frowned at him darkly.

_Okay, jus' calm down bucko._ Rogue didn't outwardly say anything though, she wasn't sure if she was talking to herself or Argus.

Tess looked at Rogue again. "Argus has the ability to see vast distances—his sight can reach up to 3 miles." Rogue's eyes widened, somewhat impressed by this ratty mutant's kept her gaze on Rogue. "After you touch him once, I'll know how long you'll need to hang on all the others." Rogue blinked at her and Tessa smiled gently. "Computer-like memory me."

"Okay…ready?" Rogue asked both Tessa and Argus. Tessa nodded for her to go on and Argus eyes were wide with such joy that Rogue thought they might just pop out his head in ecstasy. Rogue went up to the chair and placed her bare, ungloved hand on Argus' forearm.

For half a second, nothing happened. After that millisecond of inactivity, though, Rogue began to feel the familiar tug of her powers as they began to draw out Argus' life-force and energy. Argus froze in place, his eyes still wide, as his jaw dropped in a silent scream. But he couldn't even do that, for Rogue robbed him of the energy it took to voice it. Instead, large veins appeared on his suddenly pale skin and pulsated on his face and arms as he was drained.

Rogue herself was not going through a pleasant ordeal either. As she sapped Argus of his strength, she felt his memories begin to assimilate in her mind, forming a new persona there. But there was another odd sensation. As soon as he was being formed in her mind, he was also being pushed back into the far recess of her mind. His essence and memories, his identity was being shoved back. It was not the same sensation she always had when she absorbed someone. Whereas an array of foreign thoughts usually attacked her own mind and fought for dominance, his were simply…fading back? _Tessa?_ Rogue wondered, not knowing if the girl could hear her.

Rogue's eyes were changing too. The light around her was becoming all too bright as her pupils grew to encompass her whole eye. The far wall, which had been only somewhat visible before, grew exact and precise. Rogue could see the fine, smooth steel as if she were right next to it. Rogue jerked back from Argus and shut her eyes while simultaneously slapping a hand over them to stop the light from infiltrating beneath the lids. Everything was so terribly _bright._

Argus slumped into the chair, his breathing sallow and slow as he fell into unconsciousness. Rogue wasn't even aware of him. Without the familiar flood of thoughts invading her own mind, she was fully focused on the new ability and energy she had just absorbed. Rogue felt more awake than she had in days and literally felt like bouncing off the walls with the pure energy she had stolen.

Her eyes still shut, a new mind entered her own. _Rogue._

_Tessa?_

_This is the part that's gunna hurt. Brace yourself._

Rogue's hands fisted at her side in preparation for a blast of pain. When it came, Rogue was totally overcome with the onslaught and tripped backwards, losing her footing and fell. Tessa knelt down with her and continued the process as Rogue squirmed. Fire raced up through her arms and sizzled in her brain. It felt as if someone were boiling water in her mind. Rogue screeched and clutched her head as the fiery sensation burned especially hot in her eyes.

Rogue's hands soon flew from her head—which was painful enough—to her eyes, which seemed to be sizzling from the inside out. She was sure she was about to feel a spike of death creep on her—this sensation was too much, as if she were being torn apart from the inside out. Her eyes were liquefying, no doubt, under such intense heat. Rogue could feel nothing but the pain.

The sensations died away instantly, leaving Rogue with a lingering hollowness that felt like ashes remained after the fire. Rogue lie on the ground, breathing heavily as she tried to get her mind to focus. What had just happened?

"You can open your eyes now, Rogue. It's over. Just—think about seeing normally before you do and your eyes will go back to their normal state."

_Don't want ta see the light. No light. No. Pupils shrinky. Ah'm normal, fahne now. _Cautiously, focusing on seeing normally, Rogue peeped open her eyes. The dim light of the room washed into her slits and Rogue experimentally opened her eyes more. She could see perfectly fine and nothing was exceptionally bright or appeared closer than it should have. She was okay!

Tessa was knelt above her and Rogue took in her concerned face. "Ah'm okay." Rogue confirmed. She hesitated for a minute. "Mah eyes still aren't black, are they?"

Tessa smiled at her question and shook her head. "No, they're normal. Argus' mutation is so that he always sees well—but you've absorbed him and I've given you a bigger degree of control over it. You'll be able to adjust your eyes and purposely shrink or enlarge your pupils whenever you want. If not consciously thinking about it, they'll just shrink and widen as they normally would."

"Wow." Rogue worked her jaw. "That's…kind of cool, actually."

Tessa smiled again, more widely and less tentative than before. "We'll work with it after I've given you control over all the absorbed powers. You may have complete control of it, but it's going to take some practice getting perfect with it, as it will with all the others too."

Rogue groaned. "Ya gunna have ta do that fiery sensation to meh every tahme, aren't ya?"

"I've brought you a painkiller." Tessa offered apologetically.

"Ah don' want any drugs." Rogue replied warily.

Tessa chuckled. "No—a literal painkiller. The next guy you're to absorb can—to a degree—control his own degree of pain in his body."

"Ya couldn't have offered this guy first?!" Rogue cried in astonishment, almost wanting to slap Tessa.

"Hey, don't hit me!" Tessa protested, before Rogue could speak she continued. "You projected that thought right at me."

"Well, why couldn't have he gone first?" Rogue argued amiably, smiling at Tessa's protest.

"I have a good reason!" Tessa argued back, but she too, was smiling. "You need to have felt the sensation a little at first before beginning to work at suppressing it. And besides, these absorptions of yours are different from the others because I'm pressing back the onslaught of thoughts and personality from who you're absorbing—you're psyches are nice, by the way, they're helping me—but now you know how the new absorption feels, you can focus on heralding the ability after. Besides, you're gunna have to go through the process once more before I give you control over his ability."

"Ah still don't see ya 'good reason' in that." Rogue pushed herself up to a sitting position. She was positively springing with energy. Rogue glanced at the chair and saw it was empty. "Where'd Argus go?" She asked Tessa.

"They took him out." She informed her. "They'll be back in a minute; they're putting him in his room."

"Did they see meh fall?" Rogue asked self consciously.

Tessa giggled. "Don't be so prissy, Rogue."

"Ah really am gunna smack ya if this keeps up." Rogue warned. Tessa laughed again and stood up fully. She didn't offer to help Rogue up, but with so much skin evident, Rogue was grateful for that. Rogue brushed herself off and glanced around the room.

"Fidgety much?" Tessa asked, observing her nervous energy.

Rogue turned her head back to look at her. "Ah usually don' get this energized from one simple absorption."

"It's 'cause you don't have to waste any energy or thought putting away his 'psyche' and sorting out your thoughts." Tessa told her matter-of-factly. "Best save up all that energy for our work later when we work on mastering your powers." Tessa grinned suddenly. "Girl, you're positively bouncing up and down. I can't wait to see what happens when you absorb two more beyond this."

"Hey!" Rogue protested. "What happened to the nice girl Ah met yesterday? Where'd she go?" Tessa giggled again and the two doors at the back of the room flew open as both mutants rejoined them.

One of them, the male with light blond hair and dazzling blue eyes, stepped forward. He looked well into his thirties and Rogue marveled on that for a minute, thinking about the diversity of all the mutants who must be in the Mutant Champions group. The man politely nodded to Rogue and sat down in the chair. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Rogue. My name's Sor."

Rogue followed him to the seat and stood above him. "Sorry 'bout this, Sor, this'll hurt."

Sor smiled at her discretely. "No, it won't."

Rogue got the okay from Tessa and latched onto Sor's forearm as she had done with Argus. Once again, her mutation started up after the shortest millisecond and she felt Sor's energy start to seep into her already-energized body. Rogue had to stop herself from bouncing back literally at the intake.

Sor, true to his word, didn't seem to be experiencing any pain. He seemed to be getting drowsy rapidly, but had none of the horror in his expression that normally accompanied her deadly touch. After another few seconds, when Sor had collapsed, Rogue released his arm and jumped back, positively trembling with energy.

_You're Glorious—most Beautiful, most Effulgent— _The voice was cut off from her mind as Rogue felt Tessa's presence again.

_Shut up, Argus._ Tessa ordered. The mutant fell silent. Rogue hadn't felt any stray thoughts leaking into her own mind again and knew that Tessa, with her psyches help, had purposely directed Sor's consciousness into his own person immediately and pushed him out of the forefront of her mind. _Okay, Rogue. Time for round two._ Rogue could feel the chuckle in her tone.

Rogue shook her head before fisting her hands again, preparing for the burning onslaught. _Someone really oughta hit ya, Tess._

_I'm sure you'll try in training shortly. _Tess chuckled. Then, the absolute fire started burning through Rogue again and Rogue fell to her knees in pain, trying to drive out the sensation. To her surprise, it was somewhat lessoned from the first time as she fought against it, but it still was quite enough to hurt. _Gah, shit!_ Rogue thought wildly, hugging herself against the feeling. _Next tahme remind meh ta sit down first!_ Rogue kept her jaw clenched down tightly to avoid biting her tongue.

Then the feeling was gone, evaporated entirely. Rogue opened her eyes again and jittered. "Well that was a peach an' a half."

Tessa seemed amused.

"Whatcha smilin' at?" Rogue shook herself. She felt like racing around the room forty times to let off steam—she felt so hyped up, it was a miracle she hadn't exploded of energy overfill already.

"I think you've absorbed all you can right now." Tessa grinned deviously. "We can just get to work on your other psyches powers now."

"Tess—" Rogue started, but Tessa just giggled away the warning.

"Okay, so as I go to master each of your already-held mutations, focus on eliminating the pain entirely. Normally I would never advise this—and we'll discuss why later—but it doesn't matter for this so just focus on entirely erasing it. We'll start off with Carol's powers."

One by one, they progressed through the powers that were already inherently in Rogue's body. The first couple stung, but as Rogue got the hang of the 'pain control' power, she managed to almost erase the sensation entirely, which was a relief. She didn't know how long she would have been able to put up with it if Tessa hadn't thought to bring in that particular mutant. Tessa guided her through the step-process and about two hours later, Tessa had successfully boosted Rogue's control of every inherent ability that Rogue had previously absorbed.

Rogue flexed her hand experimentally. "So what ya tryin' to say is…Logan used ta have bone claws?"

Tessa nodded. "Yeah—and so do you now."

"Right." Rogue stared at her fist. "And how come they never appeared before? Ah mean, Ah've absorbed Logan plenty of times."

"Did you ever have need for his claws before?" Tessa asked.

Rogue frowned. "Not really, Ah suppose. But Ah was stressed out a lot of the times Ah absorbed him. Shouldn't that have released 'em?"

"Not necessarily." Tessa shook her head. "Unless you had specific need for protection, I don't think your mutation would take to give you any."

Rogue frowned. "Okay…so where are they now? Ah'm callin' them forth…now!" She punched out her hand slightly, waiting for claws to emerge. Nothing happened.

Tessa chuckled. "You have invulnerable skin, Rogue! Do you think measly bone is going to be able to pop out of that?"

"Oh…good point." Rogue conceded.

"If you really want to see them, I suppose you might be able to pull back the invulnerable-ability on your knuckles to release them." Tessa smiled softly as Rogue's gaze stayed steady on her knuckles. "Though I advise against doing that in battle since you probably won't need them and doing so would just be an unnecessary risk to your knuckles."

"Hmm." Rogue pondered, focusing on releasing the invulnerableness on her knuckles and releasing her claws. To her surprise, not moments afterwards, three identical claws shot out on her right fist and Rogue cried out in pain as they did so. "Ahh! Shit!" She took a moment to focus on Sor's ability to reduce pain and started breathing easier when the scorching pain died down to a dull throb. "That hurts lihke hell!" Rogue exclaimed.

Tessa laughed again. "Look how crooked and bent-y those are. They don't look very practical. I bet Logan's look better than that."

Rogue shot Tessa a glare. "Hey! It's not lihke Ah control the shape of them." She studied the little bone bumps on them and traced it with her index finger. "Although…Logan's metal claws are nice and straight." She observed unhappily.

Tessa was thoroughly amused. "Now put those away, Cat-Woman." Rogue shot her another dark look. "We've got work to do and things to discuss." Rogue's claws _snicked_ back into her forearm and the wounds closed up. She stopped focusing Sor's power at the area when the claws disappeared. Logan's mutation took care of any damages there.

Tessa tossed her a pair of gloves from her back pocket and Rogue gratefully pulled them on. They went all the way up her forearm, but stopped a good few inches below her shoulder. With her cami on, she still felt too exposed. "Now listen up. There are some mutations you have that you should just let do their own thing. I've pumped up all your mutations so far that they could all be permanently on without a thought—or off—or you can switch them with just a thought. But I would personally always keep 'on' Carol's invulnerability, a portion of her great strength, Remy's 'psychic static' that makes telepaths unable to read him and hard to enter his mind, and Logan's healing factor. It's safer for you if those mutations just constantly stay 'on' and I can't really think of a situation you'd want to remove them for."

"We'll practice with the optional abilities like Sor's painkiller—which you should never use to erase pain entirely, by the way."

"Why not?" Rogue asked curiously, wondering why Tessa was so adamant about this one.

"Pain is a necessity." Tessa explained. "It warns us when our bodies need attending to and how far we can push ourselves without going too far. If you erase pain entirely from an injury, then you don't know if you're pushing yourself too hard with the injury 'cause you don't feel anything. You can use it to lesson pain, that's fine, but you should _never_ completely get rid of it. Pain's what keeps us all alive and aware."

Tessa continued on. "Anyway, we'll start practice with the optional abilities now—like Carol's flight, Argus' sight, Mystique's shapeshifting, Bobby's ice, John's fire, Erik's metal, and Remy's kinetic-choas as well as his 'likable' quality." Tessa frowned suddenly. "What I could not get a complete grasp on was Gracie's abilities."

"What'dya mean?"

"Gracie's future-seeing remains something of a mystery to me. Her visions are random and uncontrollable. I'm sure you must have inherited them when you touched her, but when I tried to improve your control on her skill…"

"What?" Rogue asked anxiously. "What happened?"

"It was almost as if she's not a mutant." Tessa replied, still frowning. "I couldn't elevate the ability at all. It was random, wild, and uncontrollable. I've never come across a mutant that I couldn't help with their abilities yet. I've escalated my own so that I'm able to help everybody, but hers…" Tessa shook her head dismissively. "It's a pity. If I could have progressed her future-seeing in you, that would have worked greatly to our advantage."

Rogue frowned, contemplating. "What does it mean that ya can't tame her ability?"

Tessa grinned. "Guess it means she's an abnormality." Rogue gave her a look and Tessa quickly cleared her humor. "Sorry—I don't know what it means. Like I said, it's never happened before. I've been able to control every mutation I've come across, but hers."

A thought ran across Rogue's mind at Tessa's words and her whole body tingled with excitement. "Tess?"

Sensing a chance in her tone, Tessa glanced up at Rogue curiously. "What? Feeling funny? That might be the powers—"

Rogue waved her off dismissively. "Tess, you said that you've never come across a mutant's power that you couldn't control, right?"

Tessa nodded. "Except Gracie's, but yeah?"

"Cahn ya control mah touch?" Rogue blurted, giddy inside and jumping with anxiety for Tessa's answer. Tessa said she'd been able to control every mutation, right? Hers shouldn't be a problem then! Rogue couldn't believe it had taken her so long to think of it in the first place.

Tessa looked decidedly uncomfortable with the question. "Well…"

"Ya cahn!" Rogue nearly flew out of her own skin. "Tessa, ya cahn cure meh! Ya cahn make meh touch!" Without giving the girl a chance to reply, Rogue ran over to Tessa and hugged the girl firmly as the beginnings of tears started to glitter in her eyes. "Ya cahn save meh!"

"Rogue, shhh!" Tessa urged frantically, her eyes dancing around the room as Rogue squeezed her tightly. After a moment of being squeezed to death, Tessa's hesitation registered to Rogue. Rogue drew back from the girl and frowned as her eyebrows scrunched.

"Tess?"

Tessa glanced around the room again before pulling Rogue over to the far corner. "Rogue, you have to be quieter."

"Why?" Rogue's eyes darkened. "What's wrong?"

Tessa started wringing her wrists again nervously and Rogue could tell that it was an unconscious action as she bit down on her lower lip, glancing around the room experimentally. _I'm sorry for having to talk to you like this, but it's important. Don't give any clue that you're hearing me inside your head._ Tessa instructed gravely.

Outwardly, Tessa's teeth jittered. "I…I can't control your mutation, Rogue."

Rogue's expression fell drastically at the words and her body slumped. "What? Why?"

_Rogue, I like you. You're my friend…I hope. _It was almost questioningly asked, Rogue's eyes shifted darkly.

_What are ya talkin' about, Tess?_

"Your mutation is different based from others." Tessa spoke to her. "It's naturally inherent in your bloodstream, not just your skin. I can't affect that. To do so would be to genetically alter you as a person and, not only do I not have the skill to do that, but I wouldn't, even if I could." _I can help you. I can give you control of your mutation._

Rogue had to visibly fight to keep herself from being elated by Tessa's words, but she was also confused. Tessa was supposed to lie to her, Rogue saw, about her mutation. Outwardly, Rogue fell back at Tessa's words. "Ya can't…help meh?"

Tessa's expression was regretful. "No…I'm sorry, Rogue."

_I can't talk to you right now like this about it, Rogue. I will bring it up after you train in the Practice Arena with me and go to take a shower. Please, just wait, I'll explain then._

Rogue stepped back from Tessa, anger written across her features. _You know, don't you? You know all about Shaw's organization here. You work with him! You help—you help his army of mutants master their mutations to perfection! You're one of them!_

_Rogue—please, _Tessa begged, keeping a stoic, sorrowful expression all the while, _please wait. It's too obvious right now if I communicate with you. I'll explain everything after practice—please, I'm sorry._

An awkward, tension-taut silence filled the space between them and tears were coming to Rogue's eyes. She swiped at them angrily and willed the others back down. There was more to Tessa than she had shown. Rogue should have known it. She never should have trusted her. Rogue's jaw clenched tightly. She had been tricked—again. _No more. _

"Let's get on with _practice_, then Tess." Rogue's voice was hard as steel and her eyes flashed maliciously, dangerous. Rogue wasn't going to take any more shit. The time for games was over. The Mutant Champions had asked for a weapon, didn't they? She would give them one. _Ah'm takin' this whole place down._ Rogue vowed. _And every last pitiful spit with it. They want to juice meh up with powers? _Rogue's smile was purely cruel, it was an expression she'd never used before and it was a frightful visage on her usually calm expression. _Let them._

Tessa observed her expression warily and Rogue was sure the woman was reading her thoughts. She said nothing, but Rogue noticed a distinct tightening of her throat. Rogue smiled.


	32. Pawns

**_"Erik, your daughter is alive and in our care. What's stopping you this time? We have all the resources you never did and the ability to change the mutant dream. Why not ally to our cause? I'll even make you a leader in the Elite class." _**_The voice floated over the blank expanse of Erik's mind._

_Erik himself was hidden in his shell, driven back to the far recess of his brain, untouchable, except by telepathy. Erik's jaw hardened at the offer set before him. "I've made this mistake before, Shaw. Do not tempt me."_

_Shaw sighed deeply. "As you wish. When you come to your right mind and choose to accept my offer, I'll be waiting." With that, he left Erik's mind, leaving Erik alone once more._

---

"**Mystique, y' bring in Kitty like y' bringin' on a new mutant t' de cause.** Once y' inside, y' find out whatever y' can by askin' questions o' overhearin' o' whatever works." Remy nodded to Mystique. "Nice look,"

Mystique was in the form of their informant, Thunderbird. They had squelched all the information they could from him and Mystique knew enough to pass as the man. She was going to bring in Kitty to the Mutant Champion's cause—Kitty was the only one of them that hadn't been seen by Shaw or any of his followers yet. Mystique being seen obviously wasn't a problem, as she was flexible in that department.

"'M sneakin' in an' hackin' de computers t' see what I can. Dere security should probably be top notch, but Remy's able t' handle it."

"What about me, bub?" Logan raised an eyebrow at the mutant. "What do I get to do?"

"Y' de backup, _homme_. In case anyt'ing goes wrong wit' us an' an alarm goes off, it y' job t' provide de distraction so we can get out. Dis is a strict low-laying job. De place is flooded wit' mutants, we can't go in wit' guns blazin' until dat becomes de last option. 'Till den, dis is undercover ops."

Logan snorted. "You watch too many movies, kid."

Remy grinned at Logan. "Remy's skills don' come from no movies, _homme. _When y' see how good dis t'ief is, y' gunna be jealous o' his skills."

---

**"Okay, focus on it and aim the ice blast right here." **Tessa had a small little target board that she was holding up in front of her. "I know you've got control 'cause I already gave it to you, so let's just work on your accuracy. But let me tell you--"

Rogue's eyes were narrowed to slits. With a single thought, she held up her hands and sent two icy blasts directly at the target. The ice streams went right through the target board and smashed directly into Tessa herself, who was thrown back at the force of the strike as ice started hardening over her chest. Tessa hit the ground with a thump and started coughing as she fought to peel off the ice from her chest.

Rogue approached the older girl as she clawed at the ice edges to remove the layer of hardened ice that had molded to her. Hardly having to focus at all, Rogue manipulated the frozen water molecules on Tessa's chest and the ice gradually became lighter and fluffy. Tessa brushed the snow off the top of her shirt and got to her feet unsteadily, unaided by Rogue who refused to even offer the other woman a hand. "Ya could have told meh that it was jus' a projection."

"I was about to." Tessa's voice didn't hold any resentment in it and she appeared to be putting off Rogue's new change of heart as nothing. "Okay, it's clear that you have accuracy. Did they teach you that at Xavier's?" She asked curiously.

"Awfully prying, aren't we?" Rogue spat.

Tessa didn't reply to the veiled accusation. "We don't need to practice accuracy any longer. It's clear you're trained on that front." Tessa rubbed her chest absently. Rogue's jaw clenched at the hint of regret that ran through her for the last attack on Tessa. _Let her take it. _She thought coldly. _She's been playin' meh._

If Tessa had been listening in to her thoughts, she gave no outward indication of it. "I'm assuming you've been trained in hand-to-hand combat too." Tessa nodded. "But I can probably show you a few more things in that department."

Tessa glanced up at Rogue again. "We're going to spar and I'll point out mistakes and possible moves as we go. This is something you're going to have to be careful about. In hand to hand, you'll almost always be able to overpower your opponent. You have to make sure that you don't use _too _much power when you're fighting—you could end up killing them accidentally." Tessa took her place opposite Rogue and Rogue was pleased to see the woman's jaw tremble very slightly for a second. _She's afraid of meh. _Rogue realized. _Good._

They started off circling each other before Tessa moved in to attack. She kicked out at Rogue's stomach and Rogue smiled softly in amusement as she grabbed Tessa's foot mid-air and shoved the woman back with only a flick of her wrist. Tessa landed on her back with a thump and Rogue was on top of her in seconds, pinning her down with her hands above her head and sitting on her stomach. Rogue smirked coldly. "Maybe Ah should be trainin' _you_."

Something flashed through Tessa's eyes that Rogue didn't quite recognize, but a moment later, she found Tessa stretching her lower back up and around to wrap her legs around under her armpits. With a grunt of effort, Tessa threw the stronger woman off her and propelled herself forward, flipping Rogue onto her back. The move didn't hurt at all-Rogue had her 'invulnerable skin' ability on, but it did surprise her and push the air out of her lungs. Tessa was sitting on top of her only a second later while a loud, whip-crack echoed throughout the large room.

"There's always room to learn more." Tessa told her seriously, staring into Rogue's surprised eyes. Rogue's eyes narrowed again at what she took to be Tessa mocking her. She knocked the girl off of her with a light push from one arm. The force of the push shoved her off Rogue forcefully and sent her into the air several feet. She teleported again before she hit the ground and Rogue felt Tessa's gloved hands on the back of her neck, squeezing slightly. "Sloppy." She said. "If I had wanted, you'd be unconscious by now."

Rogue growled and spun around, but Tessa was gone, leaving another loud crack in her place. She appeared to Rogue's right next and landed a punch to Rogue's stomach that probably hurt her hand more than it hurt Rogue. When Rogue spun to attack her, she disappeared again with another whip-crack and appeared behind her, kicking out at the back of her knees. Rogue cried out in shock while her knees buckled from under her and she fell to her knees.

Tessa appeared in front of her again. Instead of going to punch or grab the girl, though, Rogue shot an ice blast in her direction. Tessa dodged and disappeared with another loud crack. Rogue staggered up again and turned around in preparation to grab the evasive girl, but she ended up swiping at nothing as Tessa re-ported in the same spot she had disappeared in. Once again, she kicked the backs of Rogue's knees and Rogue crumpled.

There was another crack and Tessa was in front of her, grabbing her shirt collar and hauling her up to her feet again. "Rogue-" She started, but Rogue growled in frustration and grabbed the front of Tessa's shirt. When Tessa teleported again, Rogue went with her. An awful, wind-whipping sensation raced throughout Rogue's body, but she simply thought it away before both Tessa and her reappeared in the Practice Arena.

Rogue shoved Tessa away vehemently from her. Instead of simply stumbling away, Tessa went flying into the wall with enough force to rattle the Terminator. "Ugh!" Tessa crumpled to the ground at the wall's base and stilled.

"Tess?" Rogue asked uncertainly, her eyes widening at what she'd done. Tessa moaned in response and Rogue hurried over to her side, kneeling down. "Tess, are ya alright?"

Tessa winced and tenderly lifted a hand to her head. Her glove came away sticky and darkly stained. Rogue's eyes widened even more. "Tess? I'll go get help—"

She began to stand to run off for help, but Tessa stopped her. "No—" her voice was hoarse and dry, "help's already on the way."

_Oh-telepath, duh. _Rogue mentally slapped herself. "Tess—Ah-Ah'm sorry. Ah didn' mean-"

Tessa gave a strained chuckle. "Yes, you did." She closed her eyes. "We'll talk later, Rogue."

Behind her, the doors burst open and Shaw and a cute little blond girl hurry in. Rogue recognized the blond to be Energizer, the mutant who had restored Wanda's body to pristine condition. Shaw pushed her aside as he and Energizer knelt down in front of Tessa. "Tess." Shaw spoke to her. "You're going to be alright. Are you still with us?"

Tessa cracked her eyes open just a little slit. "I'm ready."

Shaw nodded and stepped aside as Tessa shut her eyes again and Energizer held up her hands above Tessa's head. Tessa's body stiffened as Energizer's hand started to glow a soft red color. Her jaw clenched as her back arched off the floor as Energizer ran her hand over Tessa's skull. Despite her best efforts to keep her mouth shut, a scream rose up deep in Tessa's throat and her jaw ripped open as she let out a howling scream.

Rogue was frozen in horror. It was her fault Tessa had to go through this—she had hurt her because she'd been so pissed off. She hadn't even waited to let Tessa explain her side of the story before letting her paranoia get the better of her. As Tessa's mouth opened in a gut-wrenching scream, Rogue felt sick to her stomach. Beside her, Shaw noticed her pale pallor, but he didn't say anything to comfort her. Rogue didn't deserve it.

Tessa's back arched higher as the scream died as her throat grew raw. She kept her eyes tightly shut as Energizer moved her hand over Tessa's chest. The glow died after a moment and Tessa's body gave a spastic jerk before she collapsed to the ground, sweating and breathing raggedly.

"Tess—" Rogue started, but she was cut off by Shaw.

"Are you okay, Tess?" Rogue blinked at his gentle tone and actual-caring appearance.

Tessa coughed lightly before Shaw nodded solemnly. Obviously, she had just sent him a telepathic message. "Of course. We're here if you need us." Shaw cast a dark look at Rogue before tugging Energizer along.

Energizer glanced back over her shoulder with a "You're welcome." And Rogue was once again left alone with Tessa.

"Tess, Ah'm sorry. Ah really didn' want ta hurt ya lihke that. Are ya alright? It…Does it still hurt?"

Tessa breathed in deeply, her eyes still shut as she responded. "I'm okay, Rogue. Just give me a minute to recoup and we'll get back on track."

Rogue opened her mouth to object, but Tessa beat her to the punch. "Yes-it is necessary that we continue. Don't argue."

Rogue stilled. "Tess, Ah-"

Tess was shaking her head. "It happens. I didn't sign up for the job without knowing the risks." Rogue wondered if there was a double-meaning behind that. "I know you're sorry—it's okay, I forgive you." Tessa finally opened her eyes and the light crystal brown glistened. "Help me up?" Tessa asked, holding out her hand.

Rogue scurried to help the other woman up, but was careful not to exert too much force while doing so. Tessa rubbed at the back of her head absently then blinked a couple times. "Okay." She nodded to herself. "Let's get on with this, then, shall we? I think I made my point about exerting too much power." She smiled at her own light tone, but Rogue didn't find it funny. "And you also have to watch out for over-exertion depletion. Even I can't stop that. If you use too many abilities too quickly for too long a time, you'll wear yourself down…" And so she went on, instructing Rogue in how to properly manage her powers and to be careful about what she did.

Rogue listened intently as she lectured, trying to take it all in. She and Tessa spent the next five hours practicing Rogue's powers and, by the time they were done, Rogue had mastered the art of flying, learned a handful more defensive and offensive maneuvers, and had been instructed in all the basics of each new mutation she had and learned to master all the abilities she currently possessed.

Rogue was exhausted when she finally went in to take a shower and Tessa herself was in a far more worn out condition because she didn't have all the energy, powers, or endurance that Rogue did. Rogue had been standing under the hot water stream for only a few minutes before Tessa's voice resonated throughout her mind.

_Rogue, now we can talk. I know you have many questions for me._

_Tess—_Tessa knew what she was thinking without her even having to finish the thought.

_No, Rogue, this is bigger than you know. I'm fully aware of Shaw's less-legal activities, but I'm not a part of that. I play the innocent, unknowing creature in this ploy and Shaw needs me to help you enhance and master your abilities._

_Wait. _Rogue's mind was reeling. _Ya know about...about the true colors of the Mutant Champions? Ah kinda figured it wasn't as pure as it appeared when Shaw threatened meh, but how do you know?_

_You're confused because Shaw doesn't think I know. _Tessa pointed out. _But I do, Rogue. I don't work for Shaw—I've been working at destroying the Mutant Champions from the inside._

Rogue blinked. _Who do ya work fohr then?_

_Xavier._

_WHAT?!_ Rogue almost choked.

_Xavier asked me to infiltrate the Mutant Champions a year ago and get on the inside to watch their activities._

_A year? _Rogue gasped. _But—how is that right? We jus' found out about the Mutant Champions a few days ago—an' Xavier's dead!_

_Calm down Rogue. You can't appear to be talking to me. There are mutants watching everywhere. Just take a deep breath. I told you, this is much bigger than just you or me. I'm going to reveal some shocking things to you, but you must keep your reactions in check._

Rogue swallowed thickly. _Okay…_

_First, you should know that Xavier's not dead. _Rogue's eyes bugged outward. _Rogue-_Tessa began warningly; Rogue shut her eyes so that she wouldn't be giving away any outward indications through her eyes anymore.

_Tess—Ah don' know if yah've jus' been too involved with the Mutant Champions or what, but Xavier died while tryin' ta get Jean back._

_I'm well aware of his 'supposed' death, Rogue. The fact is, just before Xavier died, he transferred his essence—his whole self—into another body. It's not so different from your own absorption, actually. _

_…What are ya sayin', Tess?_

_Xavier's alive, but his consciousness is trapped in an empty shell of a man who's in a coma. Xavier can communicate to me telepathically because I can dive into his mind and seek him out, being a telepath myself. That's why he hasn't been able to contact any of the X-Men—and even if he could, he wouldn't. You all are too far out of his reach in the state he's in. He can only communicate with someone if the person is nearby or if another telepath initiates a connection. Since Jean died, there's been no other telepath to reach him. Even if there was, they don't know he's alive. That's excluding Betsy, of course, since the X-Men don't necessarily consider her a part of the team._

_Betsy? _Rogue wondered questioningly. An image of the purple haired woman that had helped Rogue appeared in Rogue's mind.

_You know her as Elizabeth. _

_Yah work with Elizabeth? _Rogue asked, alarmed.

_Not exactly. Betsy was assigned to watch Magneto's team and make sure he didn't get in the way of anything. I was sent to the Mutant Champions. She's aware of the fact that I was placed with them, but, until recently, there wasn't any reason for her to get involved with them. Now that Erik's no longer a threat, however, her efforts were deemed better placed here._

_But-_Rogue stuttered to think of how to phrase it. _Shaw doesn't trust her. Ah don' even know if Elizabeth's okay. That's why he told her ta be the one ta transfer out Wanda's power. He knew that Ah trusted her and he knew she'd been playin' fohr both sahdes._

_Shaw doesn't know anything. He's trying to play mind games with you by pretending that he thinks Betsy's a traitor to get her close to you. He wants to use her as his ally the same way he wants me to be his personal ally in relaying information about you to him—but I'm supposed to be ignorant of the big picture in all this, Betsy's not, hence, pitting Betsy 'against' himself and ally to you, he thinks he can gather more information._

_So…Shaw's pretendin' that he doesn't trust Elizabeth so she gains mah confidence and she can report to him, but she's really allied with Xavier, who's not dead, but stuck in some kind of coma in another man's body?_

_Another man's shell. _Tessa clarified. _The man went brain-dead a long time ago. Xavier is trying to spark the body into awaking._

_And yah…_

_Are Xavier's confident on the Mutant Champions front._

_Ah'm so confused. _Rogue breathed in deeply. _How does Xavier even know about the Mutant Champions? And why wouldn't he tell any of the other X-Men about them?_

_Xavier's the most powerful telepath on the planet, Rogue, how do you think he knew about the Mutant Champions? _She paused. _He's been watching them for a long time now. When he discovered they were looking for a powerful mutant, he decided to put someone in undercover. That was me._

_That doesn't explain why he wouldn't tell anyone. _Rogue accused, still suspicious. _Xavier would have told the X-Men if he thought anyone at mansion was in danger._

_Xavier told the people he could trust. The telepaths. _Before Rogue could ask, Tessa went on. _Anyone else would be unable to block out probes from the Mutant Champions and would discover the set up that Xavier put in place with me and Betsy. Jean used to know, but that was before she evolved into the Phoenix. I know you didn't specifically know Betsy before this, but the X-Men did. Xavier didn't tell any of them, but he put Betsy in place as Magneto's follower to lead Magneto to collect up the Mutant Champion followers._

_Wait, what? Ya lost meh._

_Betsy led Magneto to collect up mutants who were members of the Mutant Champions to join Magneto's cause._

_Why would he do that? _Rogue asked, thoroughly confused. 

_Think about it, Rogue. Xavier knew a fight was coming on when the Cure was announced. Why do you think Xavier made sure Magneto collected up mutants of a superiority-working society for followers?_

Rogue had to choke down her gasp. _He set them up! _Rogue realized. _Xavier set up the mutants to be shot with the Cure! Nobody knew the Cure wasn't permanent then—he was tryin' ta thin the ranks of the Mutant Champions!_

_Exactly. _Tessa sounded pleased with her. _He tried to save Jean, too, but after she destroyed his body, that was futile. So he told Betsy to let Jean stay with Magneto's lot. He had hoped that she'd be shot with a Cure bullet and get depowered, but…_Tessa trailed off.

Rogue swallowed a lump that was fast forming in her throat. _So how did Xavier know you? None of the mansion residents are familiar with ya either, Ah'm pretty sure._

_I knew Xavier years before. _Tessa explained. _When he first found out about the Mutant Champions, he asked me to go in. It would look less suspicious if I did so anyway because I wasn't an X-Man at any time. That's why Betsy was assigned to Magneto's crew and I ended up here._

_So wait a minute…_Rogue fought to process it all. _Why haven't ya brought this place down yet? Ya seem pretty intelligent about all that goes on here an', bein' telepathic, Ah'm sure ya could jus' get all the information right off Shaw's mind anyway. Why not jus' bring it all down without havin' ta wait all this tahme?_

_Rogue, the Mutant Champions are much more extensive than you know. _Tessa explained patiently. _They have hundreds of connections with the government, people high up who, if their backing was put in danger, they would pull just the wrong strings to make everything explode in all the wrong ways. Shaw is planning to entirely turn over America's 'mutant problem' into a 'mutant superiority' ruling class and he has all the connections to do so._

_So why hasn't he?_

_He's been waiting for you. _Tessa answered grimly.

_Fohr meh?_

_Yes, you, Rogue. Shaw's been lookin' for someone to make invincible—the perfect mutant who had unlimited power who would never be able to be defeated or killed. He wants to make sure he'll never be overcome when he claims ultimate power._

Rogue was confused. _What's that got to do with findin' a mutant with unlimited power? How would that make him invincible?_

_Rogue—you know you're the mutant that he finds unlimited potential in. _Before Rogue could object again, Tessa went on. _Think about it Rogue. You can absorb any number of mutations that you ever could imagine. With my abilities to grant you control of them immediately, you'll have unlimited power under your control entirely. Shaw is intending to take all your powers once you've mastered all that you absorb and after I've trained you to perfection._

A cold chill went down Rogue's spine, despite the hot heat of the shower. _Then why are yah helpin' meh gain control? Shouldn't ya be hidin' meh somewhere?_

_Shaw's able to find you, no matter where you hide, Rogue. He's got hundreds-thousands even, of mutants under him, all of who would be able to find you within seconds if you ran for it. I'm helping you gain control so that we can eventually overcome them. Think about it Rogue, Shaw wants to take all your powers from you once you've mastered them. We want you to help us overthrow the society and all the connections they've built. Once you have all the power of hundreds of mutants, you alone will be able to trace through to all the contacts and destroy this from the inside out._

Rogue's mind went blank. All thought left her head with Tessa's words. She was numb.

_Rogue, I know this is a lot to take in. I'm here to help you all the way through it. Xavier, Betsy, and I will all help you bring this community down. _

_Ah'm just supposed ta be used…aren't Ah? Ah'm the key pawn ta everyone else._

_Rogue—_

Rogue's mouth felt dry and her throat was scratchy. She was glad she didn't have to speak to Tessa to communicate. _No—Ah get it Tess. An' don' worry, Ah see how important a part Ah play in this all. Ah'll do what yah want too, whatever ya need…_ Rogue wanted to cry. It was all too much to take in. To know that her mentor Xavier had known about this group searching for her while he hid it from everybody, even if it was to maintain the façade. _Why do ya feel safe tellin' this ta meh now? _Rogue asked.

_From the moment you've stepped in here, I've worked at fogging your already-static thoughts to other psychics. Now that you have complete control of Remy's abilities, you're in no danger of having your mind read by this place's psychics. _

_Wow…it's all jus' so set up…Ah need ta digest this, Tess._

_You're not alone in this, Rogue. And I want you to know that I didn't fake anything to become your friend—I honestly want to be your friend in this and nothing I said was set up to make it that way._

_…thanks, Tess… _Rogue's hand numbly found the shower spicket and she turned it off as she rested her head against the shower wall. She had been given a lot to contemplate, it was time she got this all in order. Rogue breathed in a deep, ragged sigh. She would be lost in thought for quite a while to come.


	33. Sacrifices

_**Ah jus' feel so overwhelmed. **__Everythin' depends on meh and Ah didn't even know what was goin' on 'till a half hour ago. An' now…it's jus' so much. Ah'm scared._

_Chere. _Remy's smooth, comforting voice laced over her thoughts. _Dey're jus' t'rowin' dis all at y' an' it's unfair, but y' gunna be alright, Rogue. Y' got people who care 'bout y' who'll help y' get t'rough dis. An' when it's all over, we'll be here for y'. _

_Everyone Ah know jus' keeps turnin' sahdes. Ah think Ah cahn trust someone, then Ah figure out later that they're hidin' somethin'. Xavier himself was hidin' this huge group from us all! How am Ah supposed ta trust or believe in anyone?_

_Y' can believe in me. _Remy probed gently.

_And me._ Logan added gruffly. _We care about ya, kid. We won't let ya down._

Rogue almost had tears in her eyes. _Ah do have ya both…Ah jus' wish ya were here. Ah feel so lonely…_

_Y' never alone, Rogue. Not really._

_We'll always be here for ya, kid, even if we can't physically be there._

Rogue gave a sad smile. _Ah'm glad Ah have ya both, even if Ah'm jus' talkin' ta the voices in mah head._

_Well Ah know Ah nevah lied ta yah about anythin', Marie! _Gracie piped up._ Yah cahn trust meh _

Rogue smiled wryly. _Yeah, Ah remember at the beginnin' of all this, ya tried ta kidnap meh._

_H-hey! _Gracie sputtered. _That was fohr ya own good!_

Remy was grinning broadly. _Y' were out fo' it, chere, but y' shoulda been dere t' see de attempt—here, Remy'll show y'._

_Hey! _Gracie protested. _Leave meh alone! Don't show her that! Come on!_

It was too late. The botched, elementary kidnapping attempt rolled throughout Rogue's mind and Rogue chuckled quietly. _That's jus' lihke ya, Gracie. Ya were always messin' up little stuff when we were kids too. _

_Hey! What is this, pick on Gracie day? What about—what about Marie's raging hormones? She's the one kissin' figments of her imagination!_

Rogue blushed crimson at the accusation. _Those were extenuatin' circumstances!_

Remy wagged his eyebrows suggestively. _Y'd do it again in a heartbeat. I know—I can feel what y' want, Cherie._

Rogue turned a deeper shade of red at his words and Logan interrupted again. _Enough of this nonsense! Why don't we focus on the Cajun's mistakes? For example, does anyone else notice that he took home a transvestite in '07? _He brought up the picture of the man so everybody could see.

Rogue let out a bark-like laugh. _Is that true?!_

Remy guffawed at Logan. _It was dark an' Remy was under de influence!_

_The influence of your hormones, maybe._

_Yeah? _Remy challenged defensively. _Well at least Remy's never been mauled unconscious by a deer! _Quickly following the statement was a first-hand account of the attack as he was struck by the animal and knocked unconscious after trying to retreat into the woods.

_It was a moose!_ Logan roared furiously, jumping at the erupted into genuine giggles and had to hold her stomach against the pain of laughing too hard. When she had finally settled down again, she lay back, sprawled out against the bed and breathed in heavily.

_That's too funny._ She heard residue sounds of a struggle and someone landing down heavily with an _oomph._

_Logan, let Remy go. _Rogue smiled softly, amused by her psyches antics.

_Someone's approaching. _Logan noted. Rogue glanced up at the door just as it opened and Tessa appeared. Her black hair hung loosely around a regretful-looking face as she lifted her topaz eyes to Rogue on the bed. She seemed a little taken aback at how happy Rogue looked, but Rogue's expression soon assumed a direr, wary look upon her entrance. "Did ya want something?" Rogue asked a little coldly, resisted the urge to add 'from me' to the end of the question.

Poor Tessa was now observably uncomfortable. "No, I…I was just wondering how you were…after this afternoon. But, uh, now I know you're alright, so I'll just…" Tessa had obviously lost her nerve in coming to Rogue's room and she turned to leave. Rogue's heart softened towards the girl. She was making an attempt, at least.

"Tess!" Tessa froze and glanced back at Rogue uncertainly, seemingly expecting Rogue to throw some more harsh words at her. "Ah could use some company."

"Yeah?" Tessa asked shyly. "I could…put on a movie or something." _I'd like to talk to you about…some stuff._

Rogue almost choked. _There's more? _She quickly caught herself and threw it off as a cough, clearing her throat. "That'd be cool, Tess…"

_Calm down fille, we still wit' y'. _Remy assured her.

_No! It's not about that. _Tess conveyed quickly.

_See? It's not as bad as y' t'ink. _Remy nodded his approval.

She approached the edge of the bed and a projection television flicked on behind her where the movie Fired Up started playing. _It's something else…about what you said in the Practice Arena. _Tessa sat on the bed tentatively and Rogue scooted over to half of the bed so she had more room.

_It's about ya' mutation! _Gracie clarified.

Tessa backed up slowly on it until she was level with Rogue before turning her head back to the television. "How was practice today?" Tessa asked her, making small talk.

Tessa might have been able to keep track of dozens of different things at once and still function fine, but Rogue wasn't quite as computer-minded as the girl beside her. Between the television, their mental conversation, her own psyches, and their actual conversation, Rogue was quickly losing track. She had to at least be pretending to watch the show to remain inconspicuous, but she did her best to ignore the sounds and focus on the important things at hand.

_Ya mean about mah mutation? _Rogue asked. With all the new revelations Tess had made to her in the shower, Rogue had entirely forgot about the reason for her distraught in the first place. "It wasn't too bad. Kinda long an' tirin', but it's stuff Ah'm gunna need ta know, right? Ya really knowledgeable Tess, that's fohr sure."

Tess smiled softly. "That happens when you've got a photographic memory. School was a breeze, I'll tell ya, so I had a lot of time to focus on mastering and learning other things." _Yes, about your mutation. I can give you control._

Rogue's heart started racing. "Ah-Ah cahn imagine how convenient that would be." Rogue stuttered out a response to Tess's audible question. Tess seemed to notice her difficultly in following both conversations. She pointed to the projection and giggled.

"This is a funny part, watch." The words were the perfect distraction. Rogue wouldn't have to be expected to hold up a conversation, but she could instead focus all her attention on their telepathic connection. _So ya were told not ta help meh? Why?_

_Another one of Shaw's mechanics. If anything happened with Gracie and Wanda—they escaped, for example, and you found out about it, he's been planning to offer you control for your help. It's his fall-back card._

On screen, a couple started kissing. Rogue's heart thudded away as her throat constricted. _But ya cahn help meh! Ah mean…will ya? If ya not allowed, won't they know if Ah suddenly gain control of mah touch?_

_Not if you're careful, they won't. Originally, I didn't intend to bring it up or give it so quickly, but I think it's important that I help you now. Tomorrow._

_What's the big rush now?_ Rogue eyed the girl out of the corner of her stare. Tessa gave away nothing in her face. _If ya weren't plannin' ta give it ta meh before fohr a while, what changed ya mahde?_

_Would you prefer I wait?_

Rogue licked her teeth speculatively as she detected an evasion. _Why don' ya jus' answer meh?_

_Now that you're here, things are moving a lot faster than I previously expected. _Tessa confessed. _I don't want the situation to pass you by if… _Tessa trailed off.

_If what? _Tessa didn't respond and Rogue's throat tightened again, this time in fear. _If what, Tess?_

Tessa paused. _If something were to happen to me—_she hurried on with the statement, cutting off Rogue's thoughts. _I'm not saying I'm expecting anything to happen, but just considering worst case scenario—thinking about that, I think it's wise give you control sooner, rather than later._

_Tess—if ya in danger here, Ah don' want ya ta stick around._

Tess snorted, but they had just made another joke in the movie, so it didn't look suspicious. _I'm always in danger, Rogue. That's not how it works anyway. I stick around here with you 'till we bring the society down. _Tessa didn't give her time to respond on the subject. _The issue is, if I give you control, you have to keep your mutation on for as long as you're here. There are people here whose sole job is to look out for suspicious activity and they'll be watching you closely 'cause you play an important part. You wouldn't really be able to use your touch 'till this is all over._

_Ah cahn handle that. _Rogue was getting excited. _Ah cahn wait for the end of this!_

Tessa gave a small smile. Luckily, the movie was a comedy so her actions weren't getting unwanted attention from whoever might be watching. _I'm going to do it tomorrow while upgrading the other powers you absorb. You can't let on to it at all though. Not even for a second can you turn it off. When I upgrade your mutation, it'll be during a period that I should be updating someone else's—I'm going to choose a strength mutation and upgrade your touch then, instead—you've already got Carol's powers and she can lift anything, so you hardly need any more assistance on that front._

_God, Tess, ya don't know how much this means to meh! Ah'd given up on the idea of ever controllin' mah touch. But you cahn do it, jus' lihke that! You've got such cool abilities, ya know that?_

Tessa full out grinned at that. _I was blessed._

_No kiddin'! _Rogue exclaimed, excited tingles running up her arms. It'd been so long since she considered touching another actual human being without fear of hurting them.

_I actually want to give you my powers. _Tess added.

Rogue almost jumped, but caught herself. _What? Why?_

Tessa chuckled. _Why? Rogue, I'd think that's obvious! I'll have to be more careful when I do it though. Shaw's forbidden me from touching you. We'll have to make it look accidental while out on a mission sometime._

_For bein' so 'ignorant' of the inner workings, Shaw certainly gives ya a lot of rules. _Rogue speculated. _He must either think ya really ignorant ta believe them or—_

_Or he trusts me almost entirely. _Tess finished for her. _It's option B, I'm afraid._

_Ah'm gunna need an explanation here. _Rogue didn't understand how Shaw would trust anybody. He was such a carefully plotting man. If he trusted Tessa almost entirely—well, he had put his trust in the one person that he ought to have avoided. What would make him trust her like that?

Tessa had lowered her head and closed her eyes. Rogue glanced over at her in surprise and blinked. "Tess?"

"I'm okay, just a little tired." Tessa opened her eyes and looked back at the movie. Rogue could see something hidden in the woman's yellow-brown, crystalline eyes. She'd never seen Tessa give away anything with her eyes before, but this something was deeply obvious. _He's my husband, Rogue._

Rogue turned her head back to the movie to hide her reaction as her eyes widened perceptively. Tessa sped the movie to a heart-breaking part so nothing would be evident if she showed it. _Tess—you—_

Sure enough, Tessa winced. Rogue silently congratulated her foresight in speeding the movie forward, but the thought was overrun with this new discovery. _I had to sacrifice to get where I am now, Rogue. We all have to give up important things sometimes._

_Yeah but…_ Rogue was in shock. She knew people had to be arranged just right and that everything around her was planned very specifically, but she had never guessed just how much Tessa had given of herself for this cause. She couldn't believe Xavier would push anyone into this—friend or foe, it seemed much too cold to be possible from the warm mentor Rogue had grown to know over the years.

_Xavier didn't make me do it. _Tessa's mental voice was soft. _It was my idea and my decision to do so. It made things easier…getting close to Shaw and getting welcomed into the Elite building without having to become one myself._

_But Tess…it's your body! You've…you've married someone you're enemies with! Someone who's usin' every corner he cahn to establish his control! God, Tessa, it's your life you're sacrificing! _

_Some of us have to give up more than others, Rogue. _Rogue noticed the distinct tightening of the girl's throat.

_But…_Rogue couldn't even formalize thought for what Tessa was doing. The girl literally gave up everything to help the cause. She was sleeping with the enemy, for God's sakes! She had sacrificed her body and her life to help humans who rejected and rebuked her at every corner! _Why would ya do this, Tess? Ah can't even—_

_It wasn't purely an altruistic reason. _Tess explained softly, gripping the blanket with a white-knuckled grip. _My fiancé…he used to work for the Mutant Champions. _Rogue's throat went dry. She knew this wasn't going to end well. If it had provoked Tessa to throw her life away for a cause that wouldn't even benefit her, it couldn't have a good ending. _He was an Elite. He did everything they asked of him and he knew about the darker side of things. He always kept me out of knowledge of the group; he knew what they would do, how they would use any advantage over him for their own benefit. Although we didn't agree with some of their methods and I repeatedly asked him to leave, the job paid well and we didn't consider mutant supremacy to be such a bad thing to work for back then. He got very involved with the job; it was all consuming, but he was good at it and he did his job well…_

_He made one mistake, one single mistake. He told an outsider some information that Shaw wanted to keep quiet. The information leaked all over the place and caused the Mutant Champions to lose billions in support and some key positions in the government. Shaw was enraged…I think you can imagine how it ended._

Rogue's brain was reeling. Tessa had gone into a relationship with the man who ordered her fiancé's death! She was at a loss for words. Here she had been, pitying herself for being thrown into the middle of this, when there were people like Tessa who had to live with the proof of her lover's killer right before her eyes, hugging her, kissing her, loving her. A cold chill went down Rogue's spine. _Oh mah God, Tess…_

_I'm not as innocent as you think, Rogue. I first joined this for revenge._

_But—how do ya? Oh mah God, Tess, what ya go through daily—_

_Don't pity me, Rogue. I made my choice. I've been working at the destruction of the group since Xavier called me in to go undercover, but the end point hasn't been reachable since I've been here. Not until you came._

Unable to restrain herself, Rogue turned her head over to Tessa again. Tessa's face was expressionless, but Rogue could see the scarring in her eyes. It was so obvious; Rogue was stunned that she hadn't seen it before. Rogue grabbed Tessa in her arms and hugged the older woman. _Ah'm so sorry, Tess. _Tears clouded her eyes and Rogue hid her face in Tess's shoulder, hugging her tightly. Tess was hesitant at first, but she returned the gesture after a moment. _Ah'm so sorry fohr what ya've been through. Ah'm going ta do everythin' Ah cahn ta help—Ah'll train, practice, ready mahself, whatever it takes. An' when Ah'm ready, we're gunna take this whole shithole down. We'll take 'em out. Ah'll do whatever's necessary._

_Don't start hating them, Rogue. _Tessa warned. _That's the first mistake Ah made._

_It's too late fohr that. _Rogue pulled away after another moment and Tessa smiled at her sheepishly, gesturing towards the movie. "You get pretty emotional at happy endings, huh?"

Rogue forced herself to blush. "Ah guess Ah overreact jus' a bit." _Ah won't let ya down, Tess. We'll crush these suckers together. Ah promise. _

_---  
_

"**The perimeter's secure."** Pietro came to a skidding halt next to Logan and followed the older mutant's gaze to the building. "We have to wait now?"

Logan chewed on the end of his cigar with distaste and growled lowly. "I don't like it any more than you do, Bub."

"I could run in there and have half the place checked before they even noticed anything."

Logan grunted. "Don't do anything to jeopardize their mission, bub. We'll try this the Cajun's way first and move on to hit-and-go tactics after they someone screws up."

Pietro sighed before glancing down at the building before them. "So you're Mystique's partner, huh?"

Logan grunted again.

"Sorry." Pietro apologized. "Just observing. It's just interesting, how you ended up with us, is all." Pietro wore a curious frown. "I'm surprised you're content to take orders from Remy so readily."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Logan asked suspiciously. The boy was much too jumpy for his liking. You couldn't keep the kid still. Not to mention, he was one of Magneto's spawn so he had already been born with poor genes. Logan wasn't sure how he felt about working with the kid. So far he'd been more than a little annoying with his constant need for conversation and anxious movements that showed he couldn't hold still.

"Well I'm just saying," Pietro went on. "I would think you'd be a little more hostile to taking his order, considering what he's like with Rogue."

Logan arched an eyebrow. "What're you tryin' to say, Zippy? Stop dodging around your words. I don't know what you're talking about."

"You know," Pietro urged, "considering how he feels about Rogue, I'd just think—"

"What'dya mean, 'how he feels about Rogue?'" Logan asked aggressively. "Gaiter Bait's taken an interest in Rogue?" Logan scoffed at Pietro's expression. "Please—she'd give that cocky Cajun a beating if she thought he liked her. I'm not concerned if little Bayou Boy has a crush."

"I don't know about that." Pietro objected. "I heard she kissed him on the first day of her kidnapping."

Logan snorted. "Don't always believe what you hear, kid. I've known Rogue for quite a few years now, much better than you. She doesn't go around kissing dirty little thieves. My girl's got morals."

Pietro shook his head. "Whatever, man. I know what I saw at the mansion and I definitely saw Rogue falling for Remy."

Logan almost gave in to the temptation to roll his eyes, but caught himself. Rolling eyes was a womanly thing to do. "Hush now, kid, we're supposed to be watching for the alarm to go off."

"It's not like we wouldn't hear it if it did." Pietro replied sarcastically, obviously still looking for some meaningless conversation. Logan ignored him and glued his eyes to the building, watching.

----

**Remy had simply walked in with Kitty and Mystique to gain access to the building.** It was pitiful, really. He would have expected something far more complicated in getting in, but it'd been disappointingly simple when Mystique let him in with Kitty. Since then, though, he had separated from the two others and now he was making his way alone through the winding hallways.

He didn't really know where he was going, but he knew that he'd hit upon some kind of security room soon enough. So far he was just walking through the hallways blatantly. No one questioned him or even looked twice in his direction. The poor security made Remy wonder if they had psychics scanning the building. That might explain the severe lack of attention he was getting. Remy knew he wouldn't be detected by a psychic probe. But still, this was turning out to be sickeningly simple.

After roaming the complex for a good half hour, Remy came across what looked to be a coffee room at a workplace. Vaguely interested and somewhat bored, Remy made his way into the coffee room. It smelled wonderful inside, like fresh coffee and muffins. The later scent was explained by a fresh basket of muffins near the coffee maker. "Mmm," Remy mused. "Don' mind if I do." He grabbed up one of the muffins and started making himself a hot cup of the thick liquid.

Remy began pouring before he heard a set of footsteps from behind him. Abandoning the cup of coffee, Remy turned, preparing himself for a fight as the cupcake in his hand began to glow lightly. In walked in a beautiful, leggy goddess that would take any normal man's breath away. Remy's eyes trailed upward to her face and found a shockingly familiar face with wild, purple hair. "Elizabeth, _fille,_ why dis is a surprise! Last time Remy saw y', y' promptly knocked me flat on my butt."

_Shut up, Remy. Don't make it so obvious that you don't belong here. _"Next time you'll find yourself without an ass to land on."

"Nice t' see y' still as pleasant as ever, _fille." 'M guessin' y' de one responsible fo' Remy not bein' noticed?_

Elizabeth pushed him aside roughly and grabbed his abandoned half-filled coffee cup. Remy let the energy drain out of his muffin. _Oh, dat's pleasantly warm. Like an instant toaster!_ Remy took another bite out of the muffin. He grabbed the basket and put it on the table in the middle of the room before seating himself in one of the surrounding chairs. _Where'd you come up with that speculation, Sherlock? _

_It took some hard t'inkin', but de 'psychic' part gave y' away._

"Don't you have somewhere else to be?" Elizabeth asked nastily.

"Nope, it y' lucky day. Dis Cajun's givin' y' his full attention." Remy picked up another muffin and bit into it, enjoying the delicious taste.

A large picture projected itself into Remy's mind. It was of an old, run down building that was crumbling with age. Quickly following the picture was a pathway to its location. _This is the place you're looking for. The appearance of it is only an illusion. Rogue, Wanda, and Erik are all inside here. Wanda and Erik are both sedated._

_What about ma Cherie?_

_There's more to this than you and me, Remy. Rogue is a necessary piece of the equation. You're to leave her alone._

Elizabeth turned around and took a seat opposite him. Remy opened his mouth to speak, but Elizabeth cut him off. "Don't talk to me, Remy, I don't care."

"An' here I was about t' compliment y' hair." Remy joked. Elizabeth pointedly ignored him.

_I'm not gunna leave Rogue chere in dat place. _Remy responded seriously. _She's not a part o' dis an' I'm not gunna let y' play her as y' pawn._

_Grow up Remy. _Elizabeth reprimanded sharply. _Rogue is a part of this whether you like it or not. You're not simply going to run off with her and wait this out. She's a key player. If she's not playing for us, she's playing for them. There's no neutral play for her._

_Dat's not true. _Remy rejected stubbornly. _She don' have t' participate in all dese schemes if she don' want t'. Dere's always a way out._

_You're ignorant of the situation Remy. _Elizabeth warned. _You will not interrupt. her. You don't know how important she is._

_She's not a part o' dis organization. When I go t' get her, y' better not be in my way, Lizzie._

Elizabeth's eyes narrowed at her cup of coffee. _When you try to 'save' her Remy, you'll find that she doesn't want to go. Rogue's committed to the cause of breaking up the Mutant Champions. She won't walk away with you._

_We'll see about dat. _Remy stood from the table. _T'anks fo' y' help, Bethy._

Elizabeth's brow furrowed more. _Don't get yourself killed. _

_Wow, is dat a human response I'm hearin'? _Remy asked wryly. _Y' should probably take y' temperature t' diagnose dat fever, Eli._

Elizabeth let out a frustrated sigh. _It's Betsy, Remy. Enough of these other names you're giving me._

_See, now was dat dat hard? _Remy asked, grinning as he snatched up another muffin. He began to make his way to the door to leave. _Remy'll be seein' y' around, Betsy. We'll make a habit outa dis._

_For your sake, I hope not. _


	34. Human Exchanges

"**What if you get caught?" **Bethany asked uncertainly.

Zack nodded with Bethany's concern. "They're sure to have the place under strict watch and locked down tight. I don't think this is a good idea."

Sparks waved them off. "It's fine! He'll be in there for what, half a minute? If he meets any trouble it's not like he can't just teleport out."

Sam shook his head. "If they have telepaths, they could stop him from getting away. It sounds too risky just to get a ride."

Jubilee stared at all of them incredulously. "Am I the only one who knows about the second garage they have?" All eyes focused on her in surprise. Jubilee resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "I guess so, huh?"

"What're you talking about?" Sparks snapped. "What second garage?"

Kurt wore a mystified expression too. "Yes, Jubilee, vhat garage are you referring to?"

"The X-Men made a second garage bunker in case the mansion was ever attacked again like this." Jubilee explained. "In case someone got out without a vehicle, they could find one outside the mansion."

"Where is it?" Rahne questioned, glancing around the circle at them all.

"I don't know." Most everyone wore an exasperated look. Jubilee shrugged. "What? You all didn't even know about it! I've contributed my part! It's someone else's job to find it."

Sparks sneered at her. "Good job being less-than-useless and annoying."

"I don't see you contributing anything, Sparkplug." Jubilee shot back.

Zack interrupted the two mutants before the argument could escalate. "Hey—calm down guys. We can't afford to be fighting between us right now. We've just gotta think this through and come up with a solution. Does anyone here have any power that could help us find the second garage?"

Around the circle he received empty stares. Zack sighed.

"If I knew what to sniff for, I could probably track it down." Rahne offered, trying to sound helpful.

Siren breathed in heavily. "This isn't helping."

"None of us have enough money to buy a vehicle." Sam pointed out. "We have to either find the second garage or risk going into the mansion's sublevels to get one of them."

Jubilee was staring at Paige with an interested glint in her eyes. Paige, still in her diamond form and self conscious, had her arms crossed in front of her chest and was sitting on her knees. She noticed Jubilee's look. "What?" She asked defensively, cringing away as everyone's gaze turned to her and Jubilee.

Jubilee's mouth curved into a small smile. "I think I have an idea."

---

**Kitty was nervous. **Standing next to the ever-calm Mystique in the form of a man was unnerving enough as it was, but now she was about to be initiated into the Mutant Champions as a new member as well. Kitty knew that it was fake and that they were just going in to find what information they could, but the idea still weathered on her resolve to go through with this. Signing the papers for her acceptance to the group, Kitty felt as if she were falling into some bigger picture, some vast scheme that was larger than any of them, one that could swallow her whole.

Kitty finished signing her name on the contract and the woman who'd given it to her smiled. "Welcome to the team." She turned to address Thunderbird. "Good work, Thunder. She's certainly going to come in handy with that mutation of hers. You did good."

Mystique nodded at the woman. Another smile was granted to the both of them as the woman turned around and put two fingers to her head, supposedly telepathically communicating with someone. Kitty glanced at Mystique nervously, but Mystique gave away nothing in her face or body language. "Thunder, do you mind giving Remmany here the tour?"

Mystique shook her head. "That'd be fine." Her voice was masculine, just like Thunderbird's. Kitty found the way she mimicked voices to be quite creepy.

With one last smile at them, the woman left.

Kitty's teeth clicked nervously. "You don't think they're—"

Mystique shot her a dark look. "Quiet." She snapped. Kitty shut her mouth abruptly, very much intimidated by the woman beside her. "Let's go." Mystique started for the door, not even looking back to see if Kitty was following. Kitty rushed to catch up with her.

_Kitty, you were a fool to come here._ Kitty's eyes widened as the voice reverberated throughout her mind.

_Betsy?_ She asked in astonishment, shock coating her words.

_Do you know how difficult it is to shield you, Mystique, and Gambit from all the other psychics in this building? If I hadn't run into Remy and discovered your presence here, that woman would have detected your intentions instantly and killed you on the spot._ Kitty shivered at the thought and the graveness to Betsy's words. _And you've joined up with the Mutant Champions too? That's not a smart idea, Kitty._

_We're trying—_

_--to find information to help your friends, I know. _Betsy cut her off, shaking her head. _You didn't have to go about it in such an obvious manner._

_Well—_Kitty tried to defend herself. _If you're so knowledgeable about it, what're you doing here? I thought Shaw—_

_Shaw trusts me. _Betsy cut her off again. _He is playing mind games with all of you, trying to twist around the truth so much that you don't know who to believe._

_Well he's succeeding. _Kitty's brow was furrowed. _'cause I sure as hell don't trust you._

Betsy rolled her eyes. _If I was against you, Kitty, I wouldn't be trying to protect you right now._

_You might. You play all sides of the field. _Kitty shot back.

Betsy shook her head. _Whether or not you believe me right now is not the issue. I told Remy where to go to find Rogue and the others, there's really no need for you to be here now._

_Is that so? _Kitty questioned her dubiously. _I guess you won't mind if we have a look around then._

Betsy rolled her eyes at Kitty's distrust. _Don't take long, Kitty. I'm not going to be able to shield you forever._

As much as Kitty doubted it, Betsy seemed to be playing for their team. For now, at least. Kitty knew she could remove her psychic protection at any second and they'd be dead. The only thought that kept her from a complete panic was the fact that nothing had happened yet. Surely, as Betsy had said, if she was aiming to get rid of them, she could have done it by now.

Kitty and Mystique continued their way through the winding corridors. The building was about four times the size of the mansion back at home and the mansion itself was huge. She knew she'd get lost around here if she was alone. If Mystique's presence served as anything, at least she seemed to be knowing where they were.

_Betsy?_

_What, Kitty? _Betsy asked irritably.

Kitty hesitated. _Do you ever…_ she trailed off. Betsy wasn't the same girl she had once known, Kitty knew that. Betsy had made it very clear to them when she came back, but Kitty was still hurt over the loss of her friend.

Betsy's tone softened marginally. _I do, Kitty, but it doesn't change the facts._

_I just never knew how it happened. _Kitty tried to seek answers. _You were okay with the switch, you had adjusted…why did you go back looking for him?_

She was referring to Betsy's body-changing experience, of course. Betsy had known Kitty before and after the fact it had happened. Betsy had been distraught and angry after it'd taken place and she'd escaped, but her reaction was understandable. Kitty couldn't imagine what she'd do if someone stole her body and put her into a different one. Betsy had taken some time to adjust and cope with it, but she had. That was, at least she had before she went off to seek out Shade again. Kitty had been told bits and grasps from Ororo about what happened in result of that. Shade had mistakenly killed his lover in Betsy's body while Betsy watched on in horror. Shade hadn't stopped there though; he'd gone on to kill Betsy's family too. Betsy hadn't returned to them after that and had instead joined Magneto's forces. Her leaving still left scars on Kitty's heart. They had been best friends.

_I'd rather not talk about it. _Betsy's distinctly British accent was strained and had taken on another edge. _You know enough._

_No, I don't. _Kitty protested. _I don't know why you would go to Magneto instead of coming back to us. We would have helped you, Betsy. I would have helped yout. You didn't have to leave._

_Yes, I did. _Betsy knew Kitty was about to protest again. _There's too much you don't know Kitty and I can't tell you what it is. It's risky enough just talking to you here. I'm going to have to wipe your memory of this conversation when you leave._

_Why?! _Kitty asked in alarm. _Why won't you tell me, Betsy? Don't erase my mind._

_I have no choice. _Betsy's voice was grave. _You have no psychic protection when I'm not constantly shielding you. Knowing that I've spoken to you is a liability. Since you're planning on going to the main headquarters, I can't afford you knowing anything that puts me at risk. I'm sorry, Kitty. When you leave this building, we'll never have spoken._

Kitty wanted to cry. Betsy didn't even trust her enough to leave her mind alone. The girl seemed to be on their side—for the moment—and Kitty even thought she had connected with the old Betsy for a moment, but that was gone now. Kitty wouldn't even remember their conversation. She wouldn't remember that Betsy was still trying to help them. _I don't want to forget._

Betsy didn't respond.

"Here." Mystique grabbed her shoulder and Kitty jumped. Mystique gave her another sour look then nodded to an open doorway. Kitty couldn't see what was inside because a blue bubble shield surrounded the entryway and completely blocked off the view. "This looks promising." Mystique gestured to the doorway. "Phase us through the shield."

"O-okay." Kitty stuttered, still trying to get her bearings after her long talk with Betsy. Kitty latched onto Mystique's hand and walked right through the shield with her into what appeared to be a normal looking bedroom. It was pretty bare, but there was nothing sinister about it. There was a girl sitting on the bed faced away from them.

"Oh my God!" Kitty gasped, rushing up to the girl on the bed. "Rogue?"

The girl turned at the sound of Kitty's voice and stepped back off the bed, tripping to the floor momentarily before popping back up and glaring at them hostilely. "Who are you?"

Kitty pulled up short, staring at the girl in shock. The girl looked remarkably like Rogue in almost every aspect. She had the same facial structure, the same straight, brown hair—without Rogue's tell-tale streaks—the same build as her, even though she was a little shorter. The girl's eyes were also blue instead of Rogue's green. Despite the small differences, they might have been twins from what Kitty could see.

The girl's serious face suddenly dropped as her eyes flew to the doorway. "Hey! How'd y'all get in hehre?!" _Thick southern accent too?_

Kitty glanced over at Mystique to see Thunderbird's eyes scanning the girl suspiciously. The girl stepped closer to them, trying to be imposing and tough. "Ah want some answers-who are ya people?! What did ya say about Marie?"

_Marie?!_ Kitty's eyes widened. _Is that Rogue's real name?_

Mystique stepped closer to the girl and picked her up by the front of her shirt. The girl squeaked and started struggling, but Mystique stilled her by putting her other hand around the back of the girl's neck and applying pressure. "Ahh! Stop!" The girl cried out. "Ya hurtin' meh!"

Kitty stepped forward to intercede, but Mystique stopped applying pressure. "You're going to answer some questions." Mystique commanded. The girl looked terrified. She didn't speak until Mystique started squeezing her neck again.

"Okay! Don't hurt meh!" Mystique dropped the girl and she fell to the floor with a flop. Straightening and trying to preserve her dignity, she climbed to her feet and stepped back from Mystique a few feet.

"Who are you?" Mystique questioned.

"Mah name is Gracie." The girl replied in a squeak, glancing around the room for something to defend herself with.

"How do you know Rogue?" Kitty asked her gently.

The girl glared at her hatefully. "Ah could ask ya tha same thangh."

Mystique stepped forward threateningly and the girl backed up again. "She's mah sister, okay?" Kitty and Mystique both blanched.

"What?!" Kitty asked in shock. She glanced over at Mystique with jaw-slacked wonder. "You have another kid?"

Once Mystique got over the girl's comment, she shot Kitty another look. "Don't be stupid." With that, Mystique stepped up to the girl again and cornered her against the wall. Gracie squeaked again and opened her mouth to scream before Mystique covered her mouth with her hand, effectively silencing her as she pushed the girl up against the wall. Gracie's head jounced against it with a dull _thud_ and Kitty winced.

"Mys—"

Mystique shot her such a dark look that Kitty was surprised the floor didn't open up and swallow her whole. She shut her mouth again abruptly as Mystique turned to the girl. "I want the truth-who are you?" She emphasized her point by pulling back and thrusting Gracie against the wall again.

The poor girl looked at Mystique through dazed eyes, completely confused as to who these people were that were threatening her. _Maybe Ah really do need protection. Where's Papa Smurf when ya need him? _"Ah _am_ tellin' ya tha truth!" Gracie protested anxiously, trying to clear her mind from the mean guy's shoving.

Mystique went to throw her against the wall again, but Kitty stopped her. "I don't think she's lying…Gracie, was it?" Kitty asked gently. Gracie cowered away from them.

"Don't hit meh."

"I won't." Kitty assured her, pushing Mystique to the side. "We just want some answers. What do you mean by 'you're Rogue's sister?'"

Gracie gave Kitty a thick look that said 'what are you, stupid?' "What'dya mean, what'd Ah mean? Haven't ya eva heard of a sister before? It means we're related through family."

"I know what a sister is." Kitty paused as a thought struck her.

"Who are ya? Why do ya care about any of this? If ya gunna kill meh then get it over with already."

"We're not gunna kill you." Kitty assured her. "We're just trying to figure this out."

"Figure what? Seein' how many tahmes it takes ta crack mah skull open against tha wall?"

Kitty winced. "I'm sorry about that. Gracie, I have to know, though—did you used to live in Mississippi?"

Gracie's eyes widened. "How'd ya know that? Ya a telepath, aren't ya?" She accused.

Kitty shook her head, glancing back at Mystique. "She's the sister that Rogue grew up with."

"Ah thought we established that," Gracie threw in wryly, "what with the whole 'sister' part. Who are y'all anyway?"

"My name is Kitty." Kitty told her. "We're friends of Rogue."

Gracie rubbed at the back of her head. "Marie needs some new friends." She frowned suddenly. "What are y'all doin' here? Did ya jus' come ta throttle meh or what?"

"We're looking for Rogue." Kitty explained. "You don't know anything about where she is, do you?"

Gracie gave her another 'are you stupid' look. "Does it look lihke Ah would have any idea where Marie is? Ah'm a prisoner here, ya know, they don' tell meh nothin'."

"You're a prisoner?" Kitty asked, surprised.

Gracie rolled her eyes. "Yeah, look, Ah don' know how ya got in here through the shield, but ya probably stuck with meh now. Ah've trahed everythin', there's no gettin' through that stupid thangh."

"That's not a problem for me." Kitty turned and looked back at Mystique who was still glaring at Gracie suspiciously. "What do you think? If she's Rogue's sister—"

"She's a liability." Mystique spat. "And she obviously doesn't know anything. Just leave her here."

"Hey! Don' leave meh!" Gracie protested, grabbing Kitty's shoulders to bring her attention back to her. "Ah'm a hostage! If ya leave meh here, yah leavin' them leverage ta use against Marie. Marie would be mad if ya left meh too! Take meh away!"

Kitty grabbed the girl's hand. When Mystique shot her another dark look, she shrugged. "She _is_ Rogue's sister and they could use that against Rogue. Besides, Rogue would want us to help her."

Mystique's jaw tightened. "Keep her quiet. We need to get out of here quickly if we're toting her around with us."

"Ah won't be any trouble!" Gracie promised brightly, now considerably more light hearted.

"I know Remy found some stuff." Kitty informed Mystique reassuringly. "He knows where Rogue's at."

Mystique lifted an eyebrow at her. "How do you know that?"

Kitty shifted uncomfortably. She obviously couldn't tell the woman that Betsy had told her. Betsy was going to wipe her mind clean of the incident anyway. "I just know."

"Are y'all goin' ta fahnd Marie?" Gracie asked hopefully. "She's in serious trouble as long as she's with the Mutant Champions."

Her comment gave Kitty pause. She stopped for a moment and glanced down at the girl. "What do you know about the Mutant Champions?"

Gracie shrugged. "Only what Ah see in mah visions."

Kitty lifted an eyebrow at her. "We're going to have a talk about that when we're outa here."

"Let's go already." Mystique snapped. She put a hand on Kitty's shoulder.

Kitty made sure Gracie was still holding her hand before she made her way to the door. Gracie opened her mouth to protest that the shield would just rebound them back, but the scary man shot her an evil look so she kept her mouth shut and closed her eyes as they approached the shield-door.

A funny tingling sensation went through her as Kitty led them to the door and Gracie opened her eyes at the foreign sensation in just enough time to walk right into—no, right _through_ the shield. Gracie's jaw dropped in astonishment, but she had little time to appreciate their victory. A loud alarm screeched throughout the hallways as soon as they had left the shield. Gracie winced. "They found us!"

Mystique was positively glaring death. "'Ah'll be no trouble." She imitated Gracie's accent and voice perfectly.

Gracie's eyes widened, but she didn't get to say anything before Kitty tugged on her arm, dragging her down the corridor with her. "Time to go."

_Now you've done it. _Betsy's voice returned to her thoughts. _I can't protect you anymore Kitty, this is goodbye._

_Betsy-don't—_It was too late. Kitty felt a foreign presence enter her mind. Random thoughts and memories played out in her thoughts before she saw herself entering the building.

_Good luck, Kitty. _With that, a searing pain ran through her mind and Kitty cried out in agony as her free hand went to her head to soothe the fire racing through her mind.

"Kitty?" Mystique asked harshly, pushing the girl down the hall with them.

As soon as the pain had come, it dispersed. Kitty shook her head in confusion as she pushed her legs to run as she came back to herself. "I'm fine." She blinked, wondering what had just caused such dire agony to race through her mind. All that was left now was a dull throbbing headache as she ran. Down the hallway, several mutants appeared at the other end of the way. Kitty squeezed Gracie's hand tighter and glanced back at Mystique. "Hang on."

As one, they rushed the mutants.

---

_**If you try to escape, we'll kill you before you even get outside.**_

Bobby groaned softly as he came to consciousness. _Isn't that a pleasant way to wake up? I'm already receiving death threats._ Bobby shook his head to clear his muddy thoughts then rubbed at his neck absently. _Well, at least I still have a head._ Remembering the choking monstrosity that had grabbed him before he passed out, that was a relatively lucky thing. He opened his eyes and frowned. He could see nothing but dark abyss._ Hey, Mr. Threatener! _Bobby called out with his mind. _What's with the black surroundings?_

_A safety measure._

Bobby's frown deepened. _How the hell would I be able to try to escape with this black abyss all around anyway? Where am I?_

_Not everyone's mutation is as useless as yours. _The voice spat back darkly at him. _It's a warning everybody gets—once. You're inside your mind._

_Never knew it was so empty up here. _Bobby joked. The cold voice didn't respond so Bobby went back to questioning it. _So, uh, what're you all doing here? Declaring war on a mutant mansion isn't exactly a peace-treaty move._

The voice sounded annoyed. _You are ignorant, boy, and your stupidity knows no bounds. _

Bobby frowned. _Well aren't you Mr. Nice Guy? What're playing, good-cop-bad-cop? Where's the good cop?_

_If you don't shut up I'm going to kill you anyway. _The voice threatened.

_Whoa, bucko! Calm down! I'm just curious here. It's kind of weird to wake up in your own mind. Maybe this is how Rogue feels when she talks to her psyches. _Bobby reflected. _That'd be ironic._

_Go back to sleep. _The voice commanded. _There is nothing for you here._

_Hmmm. _Bobby mused to himself softly. _Can you at least tell me what happened to the rest of the mansion? Nobody got hurt, did they?_

The voice seemed to take pity on him. _Nobody's dead._

_Well that's reassuring. So they're all like me, in this 'restive' state?_

_You're beginning to annoy me again. _The voice warned.

_Whoa—okay. Can you just tell me one other thing?_

_What?_ The voice's tone was irritable again.

_What are you waiting for, holding us like this?_

The voice softened, surprising Bobby. _We're waiting on a miracle. _It responded simply. Bobby found that he didn't know how to respond to his answer.

----

"**Jubilee, this is a really bad idea."** Paige again tried to dissuade her from the idea. It was a little late now that the others had been talked into it as well, but that didn't make her feel any less uncomfortable with it.

"Nonsense." Jubilee waved her off. "It's a brilliant idea. You just gotta wait for the jeweler to walk away and change yourself back then come back out to us. Instant-presto money to rent a car with."

Paige was pale. "But—"

"No buts, girl. This is a time of crisis and none of us have any money to get us through. These guys rip off customers every day anyway, it's time to return the favor."

"Jubil—"

"Nope! You're not getting out this. Come on, you hayseed." Paige blushed at the nickname, embarrassed. "Husk away that diamond skin already. No one's going to believe there's a diamond this big out there in the shape of a girl. Turn into something more realistic."

Paige clearly wasn't on board with the idea, but she was compliant. Jubilee watched in mild interest as Paige shed her outer layer of diamond skin and husked down to a much smaller bird-like form. Jubilee was amused to see that she'd chosen to turn into an emerald instead. "Good thinking." She complimented as Husk shed down. "Diamond doesn't have as much return value." She put a hand to her chin and speculated as Paige literally shrunk down in front of her to a small emerald bird. When she was done, Jubilee picked her up and weighed Paige in her hand.

"Where do you suppose the rest of you goes when you do this?" Jubilee asked curiously, lifting her hand up and down experimentally with the small bird-Paige in her palm. Paige moved self consciously in her palm and spread out her green feathers. "Ahh! That's perfect! Hold still, girl, we're about to trade you in."

Paige made one last small squeaky noise before she stiffened in place. Jubilee grinned widely. "There you go! Don't worry; this'll be done before you know it." Jubilee turned around from her corner and approached the glass window where exchanges were made.

"Hi!" She greeted the teller brightly. The woman glanced up at her uninterestedly and blinked at Jubilee's excited manner.

"Hello." She replied back unenthusiastically, glancing back down at her papers.

"I have this emerald I'd like to exchange." The woman glanced back up at Jubilee and extended out her hand through the little gap in the glass. Jubilee carefully set Paige in her hand and the woman pulled her back over to her side of the glass.

"Would you like to step back here to watch the weighing and measuring process?" The teller asked dully, glancing back up at Jubilee once more.

Jubilee waved her off. "Aww, no that's fine. Thanks for offering. I know the gem's flawless already so I'll just let you check that out then give me a price."

The woman looked surprised. Obviously she didn't get many people who chose not to go back with her. "Have you had this appraised by someone else already?" She asked suspiciously, as if Jubilee was going to be the one to rip her off! What nerve!

"Yes." Jubilee answered snidely, taking a disliking to the teller. Who really knew the true value of a stone besides the examiner? These people probably ripped off every other customer. "I'd like a second opinion."

"What value did the first appraisal give it?" The woman asked sneakily.

"I'd really just rather wait to hear what you have to tell me." Jubilee detected her sneakiness and easily evaded it. With nothing else to come back at her with without being blatantly obvious, the woman finally nodded at Jubilee and disappeared into a back room. Jubilee shook her head. "It's an atrocity, what these people do." Her meager guilt for tricking the teller was disappearing rapidly. "She really does deserve it." Jubilee marveled.

Jubilee waited around patiently, examining the pictures on the walls then some magazines that were left out before she sighed and glanced back at the window. "Could we take any longer?"

It was another fifteen minutes before the woman reappeared. She was carefully cradling Paige in her hands as she carried her back over to the window. She glanced up a Jubilee once more and she still held that bored, uninterested look in her eyes. "It's worth approximately fifty thousand."

Jubilee had to fight to control her reaction. "Yeah?" Jubilee asked, fighting back her shock.

The woman nodded at her as she glanced back down at her papers again. "The stone was flawless internally and out with no inclusions, its deep shade values it higher, and the cut is unique and exact."

"Well—uh, that's great!" Jubilee exclaimed, not being sure herself how stones were valued. "Well—yes, I told you so already." Jubilee attempted going at it professionally. "Let's get on with it then."

The woman gave her an odd look then slid a piece of paper at her through the little window. "If you'd just sign that, please."

"Sure." Jubilee agreed amiably, scribbling an illegible signature across the line. She handed the paper back to the girl and the woman started for the back again.

"Just a moment." She called over her shoulder. The woman took Paige with her to the back as she opened one of the safes of money for the exchange. She glanced at the bird emerald in her hand and smiled softly. "What an idiot. If that girl knew how much you really were worth…_" _The woman shook her head dismissively. C_hecked it out with someone else, my ass. I could tell from the moment she stepped in here that she didn't know crap about stone's worth._ The woman retrieved the money and placed Paige down on top of the safe. "You, my pretty little emerald bird, are gunna make me rich." She smiled at Paige then turned to deal with the brat again.

Paige waited for her to walk back through the door again before she dared move. _Jubilee was right!_ Paige thought rashly. _The woman IS ripping her off. _It didn't make what they were doing any less illegal or immoral, but it helped make Paige feel a little better about the act. If the woman ripped other people off as well, she could still be fine when Paige disappeared.

With that slight reassurance, Paige shuddered as she began husking away her outer emerald layer. It was a painful process that was only further uncomfortable because she had to grow back into her normal form. Husking away her skin was an effort enough and it hurt, but when she had to change forms to do it, it was ten times worse. Paige cringed and let out a meek little cry as her body grew and took on her normal size and shape.

Paige wasn't going back to her completely normal form just yet. No, she still had to get out of here and they were on the second floor. Besides, Paige was deftly aware of the fact that she had husked away her clothes again and would end up naked once she returned to her fleshy form. Instead, Paige returned to her upright diamond form. _Time to go._

Paige went over to the window and glanced down. It looked a long way, but Paige was aware of the fact that her fear of height was playing into her judgment. She could make it down, she knew, her diamond shell would protect her. Paige carefully lifted one leg out at a time until she sat on the sill, glancing down again. There was a shuffling noise from behind her as the door opened again and the exchange woman started to return. Paige glanced back inside in a panic before she forced herself off the ledge. Paige let out a small cry as the ground rushed up to meet her at an alarming rate.

She hit the grass with a soft _thump_ as the ground absorbed her impact back-first. The fall might have broken the bones of somebody else, but Paige's tough diamond skin protected her from the brute impact. She took in a few deep breaths to relieve her nerves before glancing back up at the window and running to the back of the building. Behind her, a series of curse words followed her on the air.


	35. Control

**"You think you can beat me, tin can?" **Juggernaut addressed Peter with a challenge. His muscles bulged as he shifted on his feet to look at the smaller mutant.

Peter was a big guy, but standing next to Juggernaut, he felt severely undersized. The man towered over him by half a foot and he was even bigger than Peter across the chest. Peter had never felt intimidated by another's size before, but Juggernaut was pretty frightful. Peter nodded to his companion lightly. "I'm sure you would be a worthy opponent."

Juggernaut grinned. "Want to take me on?"

"Maybe sometime." Peter didn't want to anger the man by telling him no outright, but they were hardly in the place to go around fighting amongst themselves right now. Peter's eyes caught on Longshot and Petra, both of whom were shamelessly flirting provocatively. He sighed lightly.

Juggernaut frowned at his resigned outward look and followed his gaze to the two cuddling mutants. "What's wrong, chump?" He nudged Peter's shoulder. The mere bump nearly threw Peter forward and off his feet. As it was, it caused his shoulder to throb with pain. "You know those two?"

Peter shook his head. "No, it's not that."

"Then what?" Juggernaut pushed. Peter wasn't sure why the giant had come to talk to him in the first place, but it might have been because the similarity of their build in strength and powers.

"It's nothing." Peter put off, not too sure about opening up with this giant. He seemed like the customary muscle head guy, thinking with the brawn first, then the brains. Juggernaut seemed to rely on his strength more than anything. As Peter glanced back over at him, he studied the Juggernaut's chosen outfit. Juggernaut had put on a different, stone helmet and he had two straps that laced across his front, blatantly revealing his wide chest. The leather straps laced down to the bottom where he wore a non-descript pair of brown pants that had been ripped up at the bottom. Peter had to admit, the outfit did work wonders to intimidate. _Yes, definitely a brawny guy._ Peter decided.

He was surprised, then, when Juggernaut glanced back up at the couple and down to him. "You've got a girl waiting for you in the mansion-house?" Juggernaut asked boldly.

Peter started. "Well, not exactly…" he confessed. "I'm just worried about someone."

"At the mansion?" Juggernaut pushed.

Peter shook his head. "No, she went with Logan to find Rogue."

Juggernaut lifted an interested eyebrow. "That nicely-shaped shifter? I understand. She's married to Wolverine you-"

Peter blanched, appalled. "Not Mystique! I'm talking about Kit—someone else."

"Kit—ty?" Juggernaut guessed._ So maybe he's not entirely brawny. _Juggernaut's eyes lit up. "I know the little bitch! That little mongrel tried to outrun me, the Juggernaut! I was ready to twist that little brunette head right off that small little body, the runt!" _Okay, maybe not._ "She tricked me, the small fry!" Juggernaut looked back over at Peter. "You _like_ the plain little twig girl?"

"Something like that." Peter replied warily, well aware of Juggernaut's previous run-in with Kitty. She had told him all about it when Rogue returned home to Bobby and she didn't have anyone else to confide in.

"Well, what're you worried about?" Juggernaut asked. "The girl can go through anything. She's untouchable." At his last words, Peter moved his head down to the ground and Juggernaut raised a speculative eyebrow. "Oh-I get it. She's not yours, is she?"

_For being so headstrong about fighting, he sure is speculative. _Peter thought wryly. _Who'd have guessed? _He shook his head. "No, she's not."

"You've gotta take her then!" Juggernaut cried out with a surprising amount of conviction. "You never get the girl while being the quiet, go-to guy. Believe me. You've gotta show her that she won't get better than you. Show her what she's missing!"

_Maybe he's got an emotional dysfunction disease. _Peter marveled, surprised by Juggernaut's passion about it. "I don't know about that."

Juggernaut clapped him on the shoulder harshly and Peter fought to keep his feet stiffly in place as his arm screamed out in pain. "Trust me, it's how you've gotta do it. I remember this one girl…" _Maybe he's just looking for a friend. _Peter pondered over the newfound kinship Juggernaut seemed to find with him as he told Peter about one of his previous girls.

Storm floated down from the sky, glancing at her was huddled close to Tabitha and he had a small fire-girl dancer in his palm, obviously showing off to Tabitha. Tabitha was smiling slyly and Storm knew she'd have to interrupt the two before the girl started showing off her abilities. Longshot and Petra were blatantly flirting and touching each other inappropriately for such a public place. But most surprisingly, Storm observed Peter and Juggernaut as the bigger mutant clapped a hand on Peter's shoulder and began speaking to him like a lifelong friend. _The world has altered again. _Storm thought dryly.

"Everybody, gather to me." Storm commanded. Peter looked up and began making his way over to her as Juggernaut followed, still talking. John glanced up at Storm disinterestedly and lazily fisted his hand, destroying the fire-dancing beauty in his palm. Longshot and Petra didn't even seem to hear her. "Everyone, come here." Storm called, louder this time.

Petra glanced up at her second call and grabbed Longshot's hand before he could playfully provoke her again. She dragged the lighthearted mutant over to the rest of the group. Longshot glanced up at Storm with a twinkle in his eye. "What's up, boss?"

"We're here to liberate the mansion." Storm reminded them all. "It's pretty quiet in there, so I'm guessing they have all the hostage kids locked up downstairs."

"I can get them myself." Juggernaut boasted. "Just run in, grab 'em, and run out. No problem."

Storm looked at the giant warily. "We're looking to cause minimum damage here, Juggernaut. Sending you on full-in frontal has a high casualty risk and damages would be enormous. We'll have to go about this stealthily."

Juggernaut huffed in aggravation. "So what's the plan?" Tabitha asked excitedly, practically glowing already.

"We'll go in through the underground tunnels." Storm instructed. "From there, we can all trek through different routes into the mansion and converge in the middle of the basement levels. We'll have to be quick and sneaky—I don't want you to be seen, if it's possible. Just all make our way to the middle of the basement levels, take out who you can along the way and, if you see any of the students, help to free them before meeting up again." She went on. "Even though it looks empty above levels, there could still be students there. Once we meet in the middle, we're going to have to rise up to the higher levels and search the dorms and all the upper floors as well."

"Sounds good." Peter agreed, nodding. "It's better if they don't expect us."

Juggernaut shook his head. "Sounds like a wimpy plan. I say we charge in there and claim what's ours with a full-on frontal attack."

Longshot nodded, agreeing with Juggernaut. "They have to be expecting someone to try to free the place. Why not meet them straight on? I don't know how long stealth's going to work and if it fails while we're all separated, then we're all fighting alone, not as one."

"Speak for yourself." John put in. "I'd rather fight alone."

"We should—"

Storm cut the rabble of them all before they could gain too much momentum. "We're going with the plan, all of you." She stared each down for a moment before continuing. "Charging in has too high of a casualty risk and we don't know how many of them there are. They're sure to outnumber us if they managed to take over the mansion by themselves. We also don't know their mutations and that creates a bigger risk. We're going in silently and splitting up, taking them down as we see them before meeting up together in the middle of the basement levels. Got it?"

Without waiting for confirmation, Storm motioned them over to follow her. They went around the school the long way by trekking around the gated mansion grounds and making their way into the woods. Storm led them confidently, as if she knew exactly where she was going. They breached the forest and, after a short hike, Storm pulled up short before a big old oak tree. "Here it is."

Curious eyes watched her in mild interest as Storm knelt down and began probing the ground with her fingers. It took her a few seconds, but she finally found what her fingers were searching for. She pried her fingers under the board and heaved upwards, lifting a heavy wooden panel. She threw it back against the woodland floor and motioned the others over. "There are many tunnels that lead to different parts of the basement and some that lead upstairs." Storm explained. "Don't take the ones upstairs—you'll be able to tell by the ground. If it's slanting up, choose another path. Everyone take a separate tunnel. This one branches off four ways immediately and divides into more as you go up." Storm lowered herself into the tunnel with a gentle breeze.

"Be careful everybody. Our first task is to make sure the children are okay. Beyond that, we'll get the mansion back afterwards." Longshot leapt in after her, followed by Petra and the rest of them.

Longshot nodded in the direction of one of the tunnels. "We'll take this way." He grabbed Petra's hand and they turned to go. John began down another way with Tabitha and Juggernaut and Peter started down the third. Storm shut the hidden entrance with a great gust of wind and took up the forth path. It was time to reclaim her home.

----

"**This is Scarr." **Tessa introduced, holding up her hand and indicating a dark haired man who was bulging with muscles and several distinct scars on his forearms and knuckles. He gave Rogue a look over before his face split into a big grin.

"So you're the Rogue savior? Nobody told me what a babe you were."

Rogue's eyes widened at his forwardness and Tessa arched an eyebrow at him warningly as he sat down. Rogue walked over to his side as Tessa continued. "He has immense strength. I know you already have Carol's great strength, but it never hurts to double strengths over one another." _This is the one, Rogue. I'm about to give you control._

"O-okay." Rogue stuttered, suddenly nervous. Her stomach fluttered with butterflies at the thought. She was finally going to get control. After all these years of trying to suppress her mutation and failing, Tessa was about to give it to her in the blink of an eye. Rogue almost felt faint with excitement. It was hard to keep a straight face when presented with the one thing she had always wanted. _Control._ Rogue mused. _Cahn it really be this easy? God, Tess, Ah…Ah don't know what ta say. _

Tessa smiled lightly. "You ready Rogue?"

Numbly, Rogue nodded. She stepped up next to Scarr, who winked at her seductively before she reached out her bare hand and touched his arm gently. The familiar feeling of strength flowing into her came unaccompanied by the usual rush of thoughts. Once again, Rogue found herself just filling to the brim with excess energy that she didn't know what to do with. His great power flowed into her and filled her, giving her a high euphoria that made her crave the seducing feeling. _This feels fulfilling and awesome. _The thought hit Rogue randomly and she pulled back at it, horrified that she actually was enjoying the absorption.

Scarr slumped back in the seat, unconscious. Tessa opened her eyes and approached Rogue. Rogue didn't know if the older girl had heard the thought, but she hoped not. _Just a fluke. _Rogue tried to reassure herself, to calm her racing heart at her own thoughts. _Ah just lihke the fact that Ah can't hear or see their emotions an' memories upon initial touch, Ah don't actually lihke the touch itself._

Rogue's thoughts were disrupted when she felt a familiar presence enter her mind. _Here we go, Rogue. Brace yourself._ Steeling herself, Rogue flicked up her endurance ability so that she wouldn't feel the sensation as Tessa began the process. Only seconds later, Tessa did so and Rogue felt her inherent ability advancing. The secrets to her mutation revealed themselves to her like a series of motion pictures, but Rogue didn't see or hear anything. She just knew. The knowledge came in thick chunks and, before Rogue could even think to blink or speak, she knew it all. Every exact secret of her mutation came to her, how to turn it off and on at will, how to moderate it, even how to level the intensity of her touch. She could kill instantly with a little tap, Rogue realized, mortified at the thought. All the knowledge that she'd been searching for since the beginning of her mutation instantly became known and familiar to her.

Rogue gasped and opened her eyes. She found Tessa standing just a few feet away, watching her studiously as Rogue took in all the new knowledge and skill she had generated within her. Rogue stared back at Tessa with wide eyes, completely oblivious as two mutants dragged Scarr out of the room. _Thank you, Tessa. This—this means the world ta meh. Ya don't even know…Ah…_

_You're welcome, Rogue. _"Are you okay?" Tessa asked gently.

The implications of Rogue's newfound touch were not lost on her. She was well aware of what she could do now, what she couldn't have done before, what she thought she'd never control. Rogue was also well aware of Tessa's warning about not using her touch until after they collapsed the Mutant Champions. She didn't know how much she'd crave the sensation of another's flesh on her own until the exact secrets of her mutation were revealed to her. Waiting till the end of it all would be the death of her! She couldn't even think about how long that might be. A moment more seemed too long! Who knew how many days or weeks it'd take to end this all.

"Ah'm good." Rogue replied. "Ah'm great. Thanks." Rogue shook her head. "Who's next?"

Following Scarr were a dozen other mutants. Izzy the Invisible girl was first. She sat down nervously and seemed frightened when Rogue approached her to touch her arm. Rogue held a pained expression too. "Ah'm sorry." She apologized to the girl softly. Rogue touched her fingers against the girl's upper arm and reveled in the sensation of skin-on-skin as her mutation kicked in again, absorbing the poor girl. Izzy opened her mouth to scream in terror, but her throat muscles wouldn't obey her and she only let out a silent howl instead.

The sensation of the other girl's life-force and powers filled Rogue with excess energy that her body didn't know what to do with. Rogue's eyes were opened wide with the touch and the seducing sensation of her absorption as she robbed Izzy with her poisonous touch. The foreign energy bundled and slid into Rogue smoothly as if it were her own and Rogue closed her eyes momentarily, reveling in the touch without excess thought or memories. The flow of another's power into her was just so _addicting_.

Izzy slumped in the chair and Rogue pulled back suddenly, startled with herself again as her heart raced in her chest. Oblivious to her internal struggles, Tessa began upgrading Izzy's ability as Rogue's heart raced in her chest. _Why does it feel so good? _Rogue wondered desperately. _Ah've never wanted ta touch anybody this badly before—especially knowin' that Ah'm gunna hurt them. Does taking away the rush of thoughts and personality alter mah touch so much that Ah'm getting addicted ta other's energy? What's wrong with meh?_

It was all too soon that Tessa finished her work and Rogue found she knew the exact secrets of Izzy's invisibility. The next mutant sat down stiffly in the seat and tightened her grasp around the chair's arms. She glanced up at Rogue and managed a weak smile before turning away again and shutting her eyes. "Diora." Tessa introduced. "She's telekinetic."

The process went on. Rogue absorbed many new mutants that day, thirteen in total. Beyond the first three, she took in Dash the Speedster, Circuit the Paralyzer, Zip the Teleporter, Ziggy the Water Manipulator, Christine the See-Through-Walls girl, Energizer the healer, Electro the Electrical Controller, Inhalation the Breather, Flip the Acrobat, and Cantor the Human-Half-Horse Man.

To Rogue's growing fear, she found that touching her victims was becoming less and less of a chore and more of a desirable sensation. She'd have to remember to tell Tessa to let some stray thoughts float through her mind to give her some mild discomfort during the process. Really, it was starting to scare her more than just a little. She found herself nearly excited to go on and touch her next victim. _It's lihke a drug._ Rogue mused, horrified at her own thoughts as she went through the line up of mutants who waited for her deadly touch. _Ah'm gunna have ta do something about this. _Rogue glanced down at her ungloved hands and saw that her fingers were trembling with so much absorption.

Rogue was positively high with the energy of her victims. It all just felt so pure, so good, like she was taking in the earth's purest elements and there wasn't even a hint of backlash. After absorbing so many different mutants at once, Rogue was surprised she hadn't burst with excess energy. She had had to let loose with a variety of the powers simply because it was all so filling. Now, after her last absorption for the day, she was positively overflowing and shaking with the euphoric feeling of others' power in her.

Rogue raced back and forth across the Practice Arena with Dash's quick feet, but it did little to run off her overflowing energy. She felt so full, so satisfied, so contentedly bursting with foreign fuel. She was sure she would pop like a bubble at any second now. Tessa called her after she'd gone about twenty laps around the room and Rogue skidded to a halt beside her, grinning madly, unexplainably in high spirits. "Now Ah know why Pietro lihkes ta do that so much."

"Okay, settle down missy." Tessa watched her fidgeting, constantly-moving self with an amused smile. "Bouncy much?"

Rogue started rapidly disappearing and reappearing, still futilely trying to take off some of the excess energy. "Tess—ya've no idea how good this feels. It's almost painful, Ah'm so energized. Ya couldn't pay meh ta calm down raght now. Ah'm so juiced! Ugh!" Rogue shook her head like a dog. "Please tell meh ta do somethin' Tess!"

Tessa grinned. "Whoa, girl. Heed!" She clucked her tongue at her as if she were a horse. Still grinning, Tessa continued. "We can start the practice now." And so they did.

They focused on precision of all her abilities and endurance. Tessa helped to use up Rogue's excess energy by pushing her to great limits, instructing her in how to control and call up more than one power at once and how to watch and maintain her energy levels, since she wouldn't always be working off such a high as she was now.

Individually, Tessa took Rogue step by step through each of her new powers. It wasn't really necessary because Rogue already had mastered them all, but Tessa wanted to be absolutely certain about her competency in all forms, so Rogue didn't say anything to complain. Going through each power individually worked wonders to ebb away at her overflowing energy. Rogue was still jitterish and trembling with power.

After the new power tutorial, Tessa went into several unique types of fighting styles, some of which Rogue had never even heard of. Rogue fought to concentrate on Tessa's instruction and take in as much as she could. _Tessa's photographic memory would be helpful raght now. _Rogue mused wryly, trying to keep the different fighting styles and moves straight in her mind.

There was Gaido Jutsu, a type of fighting that combined basic judo locks (that she knew from practice with Logan) with wrestling and striking as well as some simple kickboxing techniques that would bring an opponent down quickly. It was a strange fighting style that some Jackson guy created from watching UFC Fighters, but Rogue caught on quickly enough.

Another type of fighting was Tahtib defense and attacks. Tahtib was created in Egypt and relied heavily on the use of a wooden stick, used for striking, dodging, or defending oneself. Using the four foot long stick and practicing all the maneuvers that Tessa was showing her reminded Rogue of Remy with his bo staff. She hadn't ever seen him use it before, but he had shown it to her that day they went up to watch a movie together in the recreation room of Mystique's mansion. Rogue could picture him using the staff in a wickedly offensive manner and the mental image that accompanied the thought made her smile.

Tessa had also introduced Rogue to a type of fighting known as Fanchento. Fanchento was a type of fighting that geared itself towards simplicity and the elimination of excess movement or extension of energy. It combined moves from wrestling, kickboxing, judo, aikido, and Tai Chi Chuan; it was a more modern take on Chinese Kung Fu and the training went through various kicks and punches, grappling and locking, throws and takedowns and the use of weapons (should she ever find need of them) in battle.

Rogue went through some more well-known fighting styles too. Tessa made sure she was adequate in basic Karate, Judo, Kickboxing, and Jujutsu.

At the end of her last lesson in Jujutsu, Tessa insisted that they spar together so that she could observe what Rogue had learned. She forbade Rogue from using any powers to help her. Rogue depowered everything, not including her touch or Remy's psychic static that kept others from looking into her mind. She pulled on some gloves that Tessa wouldn't let her wear during the first half of training and faced off opposite of Tessa.

The girls started with hand-to-hand and progressed upwards. Rogue had taken in a lot and she tried to incorporate it all into their fight, but she knew she was forgetting a lot of things. Tessa didn't point out all the moves Rogue wasn't doing, but she corrected the errors Rogue made in the ones she was practicing. They went on against each other for a good half hour before picking up sticks and fighting with those for a short time.

By the time they were done, Tessa sat down on the ground and lay back over the floor, clearly exhausted. Rogue had no idea how the woman had kept up for so long and continued to show and teach her coherently. Rogue had barrowed thirteen mutants' energy and she had spent them all nearly dry. How Tessa had managed not to simply die on the spot was beyond Rogue. Rogue re-powered up all her normal defensive powers that Tessa always told her to keep on and breathed a sigh of relief as Logan's healing kicked in to take care of the recent bruises Tessa had given her. She took the edge off the worst of her injuries with Sor's pain-manipulation abilities and let Logan's healing work its way throughout her body to cure her.

Rogue went over to Tessa's side and sat next to the spent girl. She was feeling okay herself. A little beaten up, but nothing serious, and her injuries were already almost entirely gone. She had used up almost every last drop of the stolen energy and was feeling moderately normal now, if a bit tired. She knew Tessa must be exhausted beyond comprehension after their training session. "How ya feelin'?" Rogue asked kindly, watching Tessa breathe in deeply and exhale long. Her eyes were closed as she rested on the ground.

"I'll be fine." Tessa assured her. "We don't all have excess energy to spend off as we please."

Rogue colored. "Ya lookin' through mah thoughts again?"

"You're projecting." Tessa explained simply, her eyes still shut. "It's hard to block off stray thoughts when I'm this tired. Sorry."

"No, it's fahne." Rogue assured her. "Ah don't mahnd." She shook her head at Tessa even though the girl couldn't see it through her closed lids. "How ya managed ta keep up with meh when ya didn't have all the excess energy that Ah did—that's beyond meh."

"I didn't have to practice new powers." Tessa pointed out logically. "Technically, I was just instructing then. I didn't actually do work until the fighting lessons started."

"Ah never thought there could be so many different types of fightin'."

Tessa gave a small smile at that. "There's hundreds more, Rogue. We're just getting into it."

Rogue shook her head again. "Even with a photographic memory, those have gotta take a long tahme ta learn. Been practicin' much?"

"I've had a long time to practice." Tessa breathed in deeply and opened her golden topaz eyes. Her gaze fell on Rogue's and her eyebrows scrunched slightly.

"What?" Rogue asked. "What'samatter?

"I could have sworn your eyes were green." Tessa commented absently.

"They are." Rogue explained, smiling lightly. "When Ah absorb someone, Ah take on physical traits too sometimes. Mah eye color changes a lot, dependin' on who Ah touch."

Tessa wore a thoughtful expression. "That's interesting…quite an adaptation you've got. Right now they're split between about eight different colors. I don't know how I didn't notice before."

Rogue waved her off. "It's not very obvious 'less ya lookin' fohr it." Rogue turned her head away and sighed deeply, thinking about her powers. Her powers made her think back to the reason she was absorbing all of them in the first place, and that thinking led right back to Shaw. _Tess, why is Shaw makin' meh undergo all this trainin'? Ah understand that he's tryin' ta power meh all up with abilities an' then take 'em, but why am Ah learnin' how ta fight an' stuff?_

_A number of reasons. _Tessa closed her eyes again as the girls sat in silence. _He's using it as a pretense for all the Club members who aren't aware of the Elite members' deeds—including for me. But he's also doing it because he doesn't want to take the time to learn it all. He's planning to rob everything from you Rogue, including these training sessions as you learn them. Keeping in mind all these fighting styles and techniques, Shaw's going to pick up on all that when he grabs away your memories._

_Mah memories? _Rogue thought wildly, slightly alarmed and fighting to keep a cool face. _He's going ta take mah memories?_

_I'm not sure how it works. _Tessa confessed. _There's only so much probing I can do on his mind without being obvious about it. But the process that he's planning to steal away all your abilities and recently learned fighting, I'm sure it has to include taking away the information I'm training you with. He wouldn't let me teach you how to fight, otherwise, since it'd be useless to him. It does work out nicely, though. By allowing me to teach you attacking and defense with all these different fighting styles, that makes you that much harder to beat when the time comes._

_Is that what Ah'm doing now? _Rogue questioned. _Preparing fohr the eventual takeover? Isn't there somethin' else Ah could be doin'? Workin' into Shaw's contacts or disruptin' his government balance or somethin'?_

Tessa made a snorting noise that echoed through Rogue's mind, telling her that she was the only one who could hear it. _No, you have enough to worry about with training and preparing yourself for when we take down this place. Betsy and I are the ones who'll handle the small intricacies and connections that Shaw has. Let us focus on the building blocks and timetables that our fight goes down on. You just have to worry about being unstoppable when we need to come in with force. _

_Okay…_ Rogue agreed hesitantly.

_Don't worry about it, Rogue. You're our muscle; we don't need you to get stuck between all the outreaches of this organization. _Tessa sat up and rubbed the back of her head absently. "I'm going to take a shower before lunch."

Rogue nodded, glancing down at her own sweaty and worn body. "That's probably a good idea. Ah should too."

Tessa nodded, giving her a light smile. "I'll see you again before we go for lunch." Heaving in a deep breath, Tessa pulled herself up to her feet and held out a hand to help Rogue up too. Rogue walked with her to her room before Tessa turned away and left her alone again. Rogue breathed in softly and went to the shower, ready for a long and relaxing bath.


	36. Fight

**Longshot tugged on her hand to direct her down the right tunnel. **"Come on. This way."

"We're supposed to split up." Petra protested.

Longshot smiled. "But you really don't want to do that, do you?"

Petra glared at him darkly. "What, you just expect me to follow you like your little lapdog? No, I'm following orders."

Longshot shook his head and grabbed her arm, turning her around to face him. He brought his face down close to hers to kiss her, but Petra looked away and pushed him back. "Don't touch me. You're such a-a—guy-a jerk!"

Longshot kept his grip on Petra's arms. He wore his usual, casually amused grin. "Okay, so I'm a guy jerk, but you still love me." He gave her puppy eyes. "Don't you?"

Longshot could physically see her determination wavering. Her eye twitched and her jaw wavered with indecision. "I'm not your puppy." She stubbornly persisted.

Longshot grinned graciously. "Never."

Petra glanced down shortly then looked back up at him. "God, why are you so beautiful?" She reached up and tangled her hand her hand in the back of his hair and brought his lips down to hers as she kissed him passionately. "I hate—" she began talking between kisses "how handsome—" kiss, mmm, soft moan "you are."

She pulled away after another moment and gave him a dark glare. "I don't like you."

Longshot ran a hand through her hair, smiling softly. "I don't like you either." He kissed the top of her head lightly then let his hand drop to her palm before he clasped her smaller hand in his own. "Now let's go, I don't want to lose you by separating. Besides, you'll be lucky with me." He winked at her.

Petra followed him grudgingly, simultaneously glaring and smiling at him. The two followed up the pathway for a short time before they came before a dead end. The rock walls converged together at the end and completely blocked the pathway. Longshot lifted an eyebrow. "See now, it's a good thing I brought you with me." Longshot grinned at her, nodding her forward. "Go ahead."

Petra stepped forward and laid a hand against the rock obstruction that blocked their way. She closed her eyes and concentrated on the elements that made up the rock. Focusing her power and energies into the rock, Petra began to alter the makeup of the rock. Solid stone reformed and crystallized as the outer layer became clear and started crawling back as Petra changed the whole stone into something much more passable. It took her a few moments more, but by the time she was done, they were faced with a thin layer of clear glass instead of the solid stone that had been there only moments ago.

"Step back." Longshot warned. Petra obeyed without complaint and took a few steps away from the wall. Longshot hauled back his fist and, before Petra could protest when she realized what he planned to do, Longshot punched at the glass. It shattered at the point of impact and Longshot's arm shot through the hole to the other side. Longshot knocked some large shards out of the way that hadn't broken on impact and turned back to Petra, holding out his hand for her.

"You could have just cut yourself up before we even got inside!" Petra criticized.

"I'm lucky." Longshot gave her a lopsided smile. Petra crossed her arms across her chest and glared at him petulantly. Longshot shrugged. "I have leathery skin, come on Petra, what was I supposed to do?"

"You were supposed to kick it like any normal person would have done!"

Longshot grinned sheepishly. "I didn't think of that." At her continued stubbornness, he added. "If you were so worried about me hurting myself, why didn't you just turn it into something like sand?" He asked logically.

Petra turned scarlet and he knew he had her then. "I…"

"Didn't think of it?" Longshot finished for her. He lifted his hand again. "Come on, Petra."

Having lost the argument again, Petra reluctantly stepped forward and took his hand. The two made their way into the mansion and Longshot glanced down the new hallway they found themselves in. It branched off both ways with no one in the immediate vicinity. "Well, what way you want to go?" Longshot asked his companion amiably.

"Right." Petra answered, glancing both ways for any sign of life.

"And that guess is based on…"

"Women's intuition."

"We should probably go left then." Longshot commented. "I don't know accurate your womanly intuition is." Petra hit his arm and gave him a dark look. Longshot smiled softly again and tugged on Petra's hand down the right corridor.

They approached the first corner cautiously and Longshot held up a hand to stop her as he peeked around the corner. There were two people at the other end of the perpendicular hallway. They didn't look like students. They were facing each other over a game of cards and didn't notice Longshot's head poking around the corner. Longshot pulled back and held up a hand to his lips for Petra to keep silent. He held up two of his three fingers to indicate to her how many there were of them.

Petra nodded seriously before Longshot made an indication of how far away they were. He held his right hand up and made a boxy-circle to indicate the hallway before he pushed his finger through the circle to the end to show where they were in the hallway. Petra's eyebrows scrunched together at his motions. Longshot nodded at her encouragingly for her to understand.

Petra's eyes flared as he made the motion again and she slapped him. "Pervert!" She hissed. The sound echoed off his cheek and Longshot blanched before rubbing his cheek to take off the sting. Footsteps began approaching from the opposite end of the hall.

Longshot held up his arm and pushed Petra back against the wall as the person approached and he turned around in a battle-ready stance to take on the mutant. One of the mutants appeared around the corner, looking down the opposite of them. Slipping forward, Longshot grabbed the back of the man's neck and applied pressure with his thumb. The mutant let out a small squeak before collapsing to the ground with a soft _thump_.

Longshot grabbed the mutant by the shoulders and started dragging him out of the visible hallway. He glanced down the way as he did so and found nobody at the other end. Still, he wasted no time in dragging the mutant out of sight into the perpendicular hallway that they were presently in.

Petra was staring at him with a raise eyebrow and a reprimanding look. "How did you know where to squeeze on his neck?" She asked him suspiciously.

Longshot shrugged. "I didn't. I saw someone do it in a movie once and thought it'd be worth a try."

Petra shook her head disapprovingly. "Your luck is gunna spank you on the ass someday."

Longshot grinned and pulled her up against him. "That's what I got you for." He waggled his eyebrows at her suggestively before bending his head down and kissing her again. Petra sighed as she melted back into his arms. She pulled away from his lips after a moment and rested her head on his strong shoulder, closing her eyes.

"You just scare me, relying on your luck so much. So carefree and just out there, you know? I worry about you."

Longshot pulled her in closer, securing his arms around her tightly. "Don't worry, Petra. I'll always be here for you. And I'll always be with _you_, no one else."

Petra opened her eyes after another minute and pulled back to look into his dazzling baby blues. Her eyes widened in shock and fear as they fell upon the mutant behind him. "Get down!" Petra pushed Longshot down forcibly as the mutant with black eyes brought a crowbar down to smash against his head. Instead of hitting Longshot as he intended, the bar smashed down on Petra's shoulder.

An explosion of agony invaded her shoulder and Petra fell down on Longshot with the strike. Tears came to her eyes as her shoulder throbbed. The mutant lifted the crowbar again for another strike.

"Oh no you don't!" Below her, Longshot reached out for the man's leg and lifted it off the ground, unbalancing him before he shoved backwards. The guy fell back and the crowbar tumbled from his grasp as he fought to catch himself as he fell. Petra was on her feet again before he hit the ground and she kicked his head as he collided with the floor. The man's temple struck against the side of the wall and he went limp, unconscious like his friend.

Petra snarled at him and gave his body a harsh kick, just for good measure. Longshot was finding his way to his feet as Petra prepared to kick him again. "Stupid." Kick. "Asshole." Kick.

Longshot stumbled over to her and held her by her shoulders again. Petra winced and curled back when his fingers touched her injured shoulder. "Are you okay?" He asked her in concern.

Petra nodded as he peeled back her shirt to observe her red and swelling shoulder. "That's the last time we're relying on your luck for a mission like this."

Longshot grinned broadly. "I told you we should have gone left."

---

**Peter and Juggernaut continued walking down the passage, still not reaching any breaking off point. **"This tunnel sure is long." Juggernaut commented absently, walking beside Peter. "How far away is this school place supposed to be?"

Peter frowned. He had been thinking along the same lines. He knew they should have reached a tunnel about ten minutes ago, but they hadn't come across anything. "We should have reached the school by now." He stopped, causing Juggernaut to haul up and pull back short. "Something's wrong."

Juggernaut arched an eyebrow. "What could make the tunnels longer like this?"

Peter's mind was reeling. "Look at the walls. They're exactly the same as the ones we passed two minutes ago and then again five minutes ago. I think we're going in circles."

"How's that possible?" Juggernaut pondered. "We've just been following this one trail—it hasn't branched off or even turned slightly." The giant turned around and looked down the way they'd come. The pathway stretched off straight, farther than the eye could see, into a black abyss. "You think we should go back and see if we missed anything?"

Peter shook his head, still studying the walls. "I don't think it would help. I don't think this is real."

"Whaddya mean by that?"

"I think it's an illusion." Peter replied, moving his hand up to touch the wall. His hand passed right through the stone. "It is!"

Before Juggernaut could reply, another cackling voice answered them. "Very good, X-Man."

The cave around them melted away and Peter found himself and Juggernaut only a short bit away from the entrance. A few dozen identical mutants approached through the tunnels, charging at Juggernaut and Peter. "They're just illusions!" Peter called out. "They can't hurt us!"

The ground under them started to vibrate with footsteps as the mutants drew near. Juggernaut cast a doubtful glance at Peter. "You sure about that?" He looked back at the mutants that were coming through the tunnels and bent over in a running position. "It can't hurt to be ready for 'em."

With that said, he started charging towards the group. The two met somewhere in the middle and Juggernaut plowed through the first bunch of them with ease, tossing back a few in his path. "They're not illusions!" He called, peeling one off his arm and throwing him against the wall where his back cracked against the stone. As he fell to the ground, three more popped into existence alongside him.

Peter steeled over and charged into the mass beside Juggernaut. "They keep multiplying for every one you bring down!" He called out, noticing the futility of their fight. Juggernaut peeled another off his back and threw him forward into the crowd of them, knocking several over as a dozen more popped up on the ground.

"Fine! Let's charge through them! Follow me!" Juggernaut batted off three more in his way with one wide sweep of his hand. Peter noticed more appear as they fell, but ignored them as he hit off one that had grabbed him around the neck. Juggernaut let out a howl and began charging through them again, knocking them over like bowling pins. Peter followed his path, kicking back those who tried to claw and grab a hold of him.

Juggernaut was making progress, but more just kept popping up and blocking off the way. The cave was so crowded, Juggernaut was running out of room to push them aside in. Indeed, in the middle of the group, the clump of them got so thick that not even Juggernaut's superior strength and unstoppable nature could shove them out of the way quickly enough.

At his slowed pace, several more found their footing and jumped on Peter's back while another kicked out at his legs and a couple approached his front, clinging to his chest. "Argh!" Peter sunk to his knees and several more jumped on top of him, effectively burying him under their mass. He caught a glimpse of Juggernaut and saw that he faced a similar dilemma, but he was being much more effective at pushing them off. Another mutant clambered on top of the pile then and cut off his view entirely. Peter's chest crushed against the ground. _I can barely breathe._ Peter realized that was their plan. They were going to suffocate him into submission.

Peter gave out a last burst of strength, trying to throw them off, but it was futile. There were simply too many of them to knock out of the way. Too many had piled on top of him, almost to the ceiling, so that he couldn't push them off. Peter fought to keep his breath and push-up against the mass, but his arms gave way under him and he was crushed under the mass. Black spots danced before his eyes as he lost his air. He struggled, determined to give a fight, but the mass wouldn't be denied. The last of Peter's strength leaked out of him as he closed his eyes and breathed his last breath before the darkness claimed him. He stopped breathing after that.

----

**Pyro's eyes narrowed as Tabitha and he followed down the pathway that led up into the mansion.** They reached a split in the cave and Pyro gestured to Tabitha. "You go that way."

Tabitha frowned. "No way. I'm sticking with you—you know how much more useful fire power is in a fight? I'm not separating off by myself to get caught without you."

Pyro shook his head. "Whatever. I'm not looking for kids, though."

Tabitha shrugged. "There's no real way Storm's going to know either way. Besides, this isn't really rescuing Magneto so I don't know if I'm getting paid for it or not."

Pyro arched an eyebrow. "Is that all you do this for?" he questioned her. "Money?"

"Well, yeah. Aren't you?"

"No." Pyro answered shortly, continuing to make his way down the passage.

"Then what're you doing this for? Mutant equality?" Tabitha scoffed. "It's not going to happen."

Pyro shook his head again. "I'm doing it for mutant superiority. We belong above the humans—we're more than them, evolved—they shouldn't be able to beat us down like they do. Get enough of us together and they won't be able to."

Tabitha picked at her nails disinterestedly. "Seems like Magneto's moved on from the supremacy ideal. He seems content to hide and cower mostly nowadays."

"I know." Pyro gritted his teeth. "He's gone weak."

"Why don't you join the Mutant Champions then?" Tabitha asked, still looking at her nails as they made their way through the cave.

"I told you, I'm not interested in mutant equality." Pyro snapped, coming to a halt before a stone blocked off entrance. "Magneto may have softened with fear, but I know that ideals like his don't just drop off the deep end. If anything, getting kidnapped will bring him back."

Tabitha looked up as she bumped into Pyro's back while he halted. "Well that's interesting." She began rubbing her fingers together. "Should I blow it apart?"

Pyro caught her hands in his own. "No need." He moved back slightly, then shouldered the wall. It pulled back and slid out of place smoothly. Pyro nodded to Tabitha and the two started through into the subbasement levels of the mansion.

"It doesn't really sound like Shaw's going for mutant equality either." Tabitha pointed out, resuming their conversation. "He seems pretty power hungry. You heard him too—sounds like the whole 'equality' thing is just a front. Seems like only have the Champions really know what their organizations about."

"If that's the case, then I'll join them." Pyro replied shortly.

"So what're we doing here?"

"_I'm_ going to kill the ice-prick." Pyro directed. "I don't know what you're here for."

Tabitha shrugged once more. "I'm a follower. 'Sides, Blue might be here. I told him I'd give him the update on his sis."

"Blue?"

"You know, the blue teleporter Kurt. I think you've met him, haven't you?"

Pyro nodded deftly. "We met briefly."

"He's my friend." Tabitha explained without needing any prompting.

"I bet that's an interesting story." Pyro said wryly. "How the blue boy and you met."

Before Tabitha could respond, Pyro walked straight into a mutant that had appeared out of nowhere. "Whoa, shit!" He flicked open his lighter and created a ball of flame in his hands.

The mutant who had materialized out of a flash held up his hands in surrender. "We represent something you want." Pyro paused, eyeing the mutant suspiciously. "My name's Zip." The mutant introduced himself. "And I think we can work around an…agreement." He glanced over at Tabitha. "For the both of you."

Pyro let his hand drop, but he didn't extinguish the flame. "We're listening."

----

**Storm felt horribly uncomfortable. **She had never liked tight spaces and always been claustrophobic. Walking through the tunnels alone, feeling nature muffled through the thick stone walls, she was damn near petrified. Storm hated feeling weak. Knowing that her mutation was so far away and that she wouldn't be able to call upon her elements in this dank place made her feel vulnerable and undersized. She loathed the feeling.

Unconsciously quickening her pace, she scurried through the tunnels and made her way to the trapdoor that led into the subbasement levels. Storm hurried through the trapdoor and began making her way down the long hallway, glancing into the medical room on her way as she went. She turned when she saw nobody was in the room, but pulled up short in alarm as her eyes fell upon four floating metal sheets that hung in the air. Instantly reacting, Storm's eyes turned white as she called upon the elements, summoning wind to push back the offensive metal pieces.

She never got the chance to use her abilities. The four sheets dove at her from above and boxed around her, locking her in tight. Storm physically felt the loss of elements around her as they died out, hampered by the dark walls she was in. Storm's throat tightened as her body locked up in fear. Helpless and alone, Storm could do nothing as her immense fear took over her body and her knees gave way from under her. She couldn't even bring up the courage to pound against her prison walls, she was so afraid.

Storm sat still, frozen in place as she felt the metal box around her start to move of its own accord again. She was already caught and the enemy knew just how to petrify her. The situation was not looking good for the X-Men.

*****

**Remy quirked an eyebrow in curiosity as an alarm started bleeping throughout the building.** "Looks like dis t'ief has worn out his welcome."

From doors that surrounded him in the hallway, mutants burst forth and rushed past him in a hurry, almost knocking him aside as he trotted down the hallway. "Now dat's jus' rude." Remy grimaced, rubbing his arm. "No one even wants t' give dis t'ief no attention!" Remy continued making his way down the long hallways, following the surge of mutants that had teamed up to follow a specific path. There were five of them in all, including him. _Not bad odds. _Remy thought to himself, eying up his fellows.

One man, a middle age guy with blue hair and crystalline eyes, glanced over at him warily. "They've taken Gracie." He informed him.

Remy's eyes widened. "Gracie?!" _Mon Dieu! Remy totally forgot dat fille! How did she get int' de middle o' dis?_

The guy nodded gravely. "It's the radicals. They're a mutant division that the savior Rogue came from." _Savior Rogue? Now isn't dat ironic? _"They're trying to stop her from helping us by threatening her kin." _Now dis boy definitely has dat screwed up. Remy's a part o' de good guys! We be rescuin' de girl from y' tyrants. _

"It sounds pretty serious." Remy remarked, half joking to himself. He was amused when the guy nodded again and turned his attention back down the hallway.

"If only I'd been there when they attacked her…" The man lamented.

"It okay." Remy assured him. "'M sure she'll be safe."

----

"**That's our call." **Logan glanced at the boy beside him. "Get in there and find them, Quickstuff. I'll clear an exit."

"It's Quicksilver." Logan gave Pietro's retreating back a dark look.

"Kids." He shook his head dismissively before charging after the boy to the nearest doorway. Quicksilver was there waiting, tapping his foot impatiently. "What're you waiting for, boy?" Logan demanded.

Pietro gave a pointed look at the door, which had just gained a solid metal reinforcement layer. "It's like that for every door and window around the complex."

_The kid is pretty fast. _Logan let out a growl before his claws _snicked_ out. He sliced up the doorway in a tall X and pushed through the pieces. "Go!"

Pietro didn't need to be told twice. Logan retracted his claws as he watched Pietro disappear through the doorway in a blur of colors before entirely vanishing from sight, zooming right past a mutant who stood in the hallway. He had his breath whipped about him and glanced back in the direction of the fast moving blur, but Logan pulled his attention back to him. "Let's get this on!" He growled, leaping at the nearest mutant and swiping at their middle. The mutant stretched back like a rubber piece of taffy and completely avoided his fist, grinning in self satisfaction. Logan punched at his smirking face, but he pulled a similar movement by stretching back. "Real cute, jackass."

The mutant with sandy blonde hair smiled at him. "Try this one on for size." With that, he wound his legs around Logan's and stretched his body around his, crawling up from bottom to top as he wound his way upwards, completely pinning Logan's arms down to his sides as he stretched his body around his neck, cutting off his air. "Like that?" He asked Logan grinningly, strangling him with his body.

"Cute trick." Logan grunted. "Wanna see mine?" Without giving the guy a moment to register, he unsheathed his claws at his sides. His claws ripped through the man's midsection that was stretched across Logan's arms. The man shrieked in pain and began unraveling around Logan before he fell to the ground limply at his feet, eyes wide as he bled on the ground, still limp and flimsy. Logan shook his head at the mutant, who was now rapidly blinking and trying to stay conscious, before turning his gaze back up and starting down the hallway. "Who's next?"

----

**Kitty simply ran through the three mutants who blocked off their path at the end of the hallway. **She phased herself and her companions through the wall behind them before skidding to a halt and glancing around to her left and right. "Where to?" She asked Mystique, thoroughly lost.

Before anybody could say a word, a troop of seven mutants showed up in the hallway to the left. Kitty's eyes widened as she recognized one of them. "Remy!"

Five pairs of eyes scanned back to the traitor among them and hardened. "He's one of them!" One voice shouted.

Blue-hair boy looked stunned. "He's with the kidnappers?" He worked his jaw for a few seconds before his eyes went back to the group in the kitchen and landed on the reason for the break in. "Gracie! Don't worry, we'll save you!" Blue hair went off to wrestle Gracie from the intruders as two others followed him. The other two in the group turned to Remy with fire burning in their eyes.

"Dese odds are suddenly lookin' a lot better." Remy grinned as the first mutant charged him.

"Just wait 'till I get my hands on you!" The mutant, a flaming red haired guy who featured a Mohawk, was the first to charge him. As he charged Remy, he punched his fists together and red hot fire engulfed both his fists, not appearing to harm him at all. Remy arched an eyebrow.

"Whoa, _homme. _Remy prefers de touch o' a woman, no offense." He snaked a hand into his trenchcoat and pulled out a loose deck of cards before deftly charging three of them and tossing them forward.

The cards exploded at the man's feet and the mutant tumbled to the ground, thrown back by the force of the explosion. Remy had little time to enjoy his victory though, as the mutant behind him revealed his mutation. Twin cables flew from the second red haired mutant's palms and circled around Remy's wrists, squeezing them tightly and lifting him off the ground as the mutant dragged him over to him. The cables squeezed Remy's wrists so tightly that Remy lost a grip on his cards and they all went fluttering to the floor. "_Merde._" Remy cursed, watching his bombs fall to the ground as the mutant brought him up close to him.

Remy winced back at the sight of the man. He had some kind of skin problem that made him nearly stark white and very pasty looking. His eyes were entirely red, except for the pupils, which were neon green. "Damn, _homme, _an' Remy t'ought he had it rough wit' dese eyes'a mine! Y' makin' me feel better 'bout myself wit' dat vampire look y' givin' out."

It wasn't the right thing to say if he wanted to stay on the good side of the mutant. The cables on Remy's wrists tightened painfully and Remy could feel the edges of the steel cutting into his wrists. Additionally to that, Remy was now right in front of the angry mutant and he found his jaw on the receiving end of a stronger-than-normal punch. Remy grunted as the blow struck his face.

"Hittin' me like dat s'not gunna make y' any prettier." Remy commented, egging him on to hide his actions. It worked like a charm—well, better than a charm, 'cause Remy didn't think charms worked very good. The enraged mutant hauled back to slug his handsome face again and Remy stretched out his fingers to touch the guy's mechanical tentacle. The whole thing lit up a bright magenta color, changing slightly between light orange and bright red as it glowed softly.

The mutant yelped and dropped Remy with the glowing tentacle. Remy touched his freed hand to the other tentacle and yanked his wrist free before lighting it up too.

The fire-fisted mutant behind him made a jump for him, but Remy dropped to the floor and covered his head. The mutant sailed over him just in time for tentacle-boy's first one to explode, followed more quickly by the second. Tentacle-Man howled in pain and dropped to his knees, staring at his burned palms in horror. His white face seemed to go paler, if that was possible. _Maybe his tentacles were a part o' his body. _Remy mused.

Mohawk, who'd been thrown back again into the wall by the explosion, turned to Remy with a snarl and jumped at him, fist raised high. Remy couldn't manage to entirely evade him in the tight hall-space, but he stopped him from striking his face. Instead, Burning-Boy's fist landed against his shoulder and incinerated a hole in the spot where his punch landed. Remy cried out in alarm as the fist began burning his skin and he pulled back quickly, clutching his shoulder protectively.

Mohawk smiled ruthlessly and charged again, fiery fists pulled back to pummel him. Deftly, Remy reached into his coat and pulled out his bo-staff. As Mohawk came near, he extended it outward, facing Mohawk's advancing frame. Mohawk ran straight into the staff as it extended into his stomach. Remy shoved backwards and pushed him back against the wall with the staff as Mohawk's eyes bulged and he whimpered in pain. Remy gave one last shove against the wall as Mohawk's fingers went to his stomach before he pulled the staff back and whipped it around to strike at Mohawk's temple. Mohawk dropped like a light, instantly flicking out and falling into unconsciousness. Remy smirked as Mohawk's fists' flame died out. "Dis t'ief is not fo' y' touchy fingers."

He turned to take care of Tentacles and grinned when he saw the other man had passed out. "Dat's right, Remy's jus' too hot fo' y' boys." Remy took a moment to pick up several handfuls of his dropped cards before nodding to his defeated opponents in farewell. "Be seein' y', _hommes._" With that, he ducked through the doorway to join his companions.

----

**Kitty released Gracie's and Mystique's hand as she readied herself in a defensive position for the Mutant Champions to attack. **A middle aged man with blue hair charged through the group and flicked his wrist in Gracie's direction. Gracie gasped in shock and fright as a blue bubble engulfed her and swallowed her up. "We'll save you, Gracie!" The man shouted.

"Oh no you don't!" Kitty jumped forward into the bubble and appeared out the other side with Gracie, their hands linked. "Gracie, stay in the corner away from it all!" Kitty shouted quickly, pushing Gracie behind her into the corner.

Mystique had already jumped into action and was fighting a mutant woman with six arms as she twirled and danced around Mystique. Mystique had dropped the Thunderbird look and gone back to her preferred slick-blue form. Gracie stared on at her, watching in amazement at the man who'd just turned into a woman before her eyes.

Kitty had little time to watch and speculate on the pair though, as the Blue-haired Man and a pink haired woman advanced on her. Seeing that his bubble-shields were useless against her, Blue-Hair-and-Eyes dove for her with his hands outstretched. Kitty simply let him phase through her, but that had unexpected consequences as he crashed into Gracie. Meanwhile, Pink flicked out her wrist and an odd, human shaped pink gunk rose up from her fingers. It was only about three feet tall and it looked like a little midget man.

Kitty turned away from the odd creation to deal with Blue, who was grabbing Gracie's wrists and trying to drag her away. "No!" Gracie protested, yanking her hand back from him. "Let meh go! Ah want ta go with them!"

"They've tricked you, Gracie!" Blue called out desperately. "They're playing with your mind! Let me protect you!"

"Let go of her!" Kitty shouted, kicking at the back of the guy's shins. He went down like a ton of bricks and Kitty continued the attack by phasing her hands through his neck until they were in front of them and then pulling back, trying to strangle him.

A wet, sticky pink hand landed on her shoulder. Kitty phased that part of her body and switched her position above Blue to keep her grip on him. His struggles were already weakening under her grip.

In an attempt to help her, Gracie lashed out with a foot towards the sticky pink form to kick it back. To her surprise and horror, the pink creation simply swallowed up her foot and tightened its rubbery form around it. Gracie was pulled forward as the being stepped back. She lost her balance on only one foot and fell to the ground, bumping her head harshly against the floor as she went. "Ahhh!" She cried out in fear as the being started to drag her back to its creator. "Let meh go!" She kicked at it with her other foot and yelped when it absorbed up that foot too.

The being's face disappeared and its feet turned into itself before readjusting backwards, opposite of what they'd been. The thing started walking off forward in the other direction, towards Pink. Gracie reached out desperately for a handhold on something, but her position was upright so she couldn't grab a hold of anything or claw at the ground without being at an awkward angle that broke her grasp. "Help!" Gracie howled helplessly.

Kitty turned at her shouting as Gracie was dragged away. Desperately glancing between the man she was currently choking and Gracie, Kitty let out a grunt as she released her captive and went after Gracie.

Gracie was already in the woman's clutches by the time Kitty reached her. The woman flicked her wrist again. The pink creation opened up momentarily and spat Gracie out at her feet before turning around to face Kitty again.

Kitty ignored the creation and leapt through it, latching onto Gracie's ankle as she squeaked. Pink grabbed an arm and tugged as Kitty fought to drag Kitty over to her side again. Gracie whimpered at the tug of war she was in.

Suddenly, a blur of color interrupted them and pushed back at Pink's chest. Pink flew back and crashed into the wall, groaning as she slid down it slowly. Kitty blinked at Pietro slowed enough to come into view. "Pietro?"

"No, it's the wind." Pietro shook his head, glancing down at Gracie. "Who's that?"

Kitty shook her head. "There's no time to explain right now. You've gotta take her outa here and wait for us outside. Where's Logan?"

"Clearing the exit." Pietro answered shortly, scooping the girl at his feet into his arms bridal-style while Gracie stared at him with slack-jawed awe. "Can you get out with Mystique?"

Kitty nodded. "I don't need a clear exit. Just take her and go." Pietro nodded and glanced down at his subject.

"Close your eyes." He commanded. Gracie took a moment to register his words before she obeyed. Pietro dashed away, leaving a cold wind in his wake as he disappeared from the room.

Kitty turned around, ignoring the still pink creation as her eyes focused on Mystique. Just as Mystique landed a kick against the six-armed woman's jaw, the woman backhanded her with one of her middle hands and Mystique went flying back into the wall. Remy appeared in the doorway and blinked at the sight of Mystique being beat back. "Remy! Grab my arm!" Kitty commanded, rushing forward to the dizzy Mystique and grabbing her shoulder.

Remy appeared behind her and grabbed her arm. "Get your feet ready for impact." Kitty called out a warning before sinking through the floor with her two companions. They landed with a _thump_ one floor below and Mystique crumpled to her knees. "Are you okay?" Kitty asked urgently, going to help the woman up.

"I'm fine." Mystique snapped. "Keep going."

Thinking it best not to argue with the blue woman, Kitty griped her shoulder tighter and nodded at Remy before sinking down through the second level floor. When she landed this time, her feet gave out from under her and she twisted her ankle painfully. "Ahh!" Kitty gripped her ankle in pain.

"_Petit, _are y' okay?" Remy helped her to her feet and let her lean most of her weight on him.

"I'm okay." Kitty groaned softly. "I just twisted it."

"Y' need t' be carried out?"

Kitty waved him off. "I'll be fine."

Mystique shook her head at the both of them, getting to her feet. "Let's go." Grabbing Kitty again, the three took off through the wall as they fought to make their way outside. Six walls and a very tired Kitty later, they made it out into the fresh air outside. Remy urged them on until they were a good enough distance away from the complex before Kitty collapsed, clutching her ankle painfully.

Remy caught her before she could fully fall and supported her as they turned around and watched the complex. It wasn't long before they saw a familiar blur. The color blur spotted them and made a wide U as it turned around and ran back to the entrance of the building. "What's he doing?" Kitty asked.

Her question was answered seconds later when the familiar form of Logan appeared in the doorway and started following the blur as it turned again and made its way back to them. Pietro skidded to a halt in front of them all, still holding Gracie in his arms. "Did we find what we came for?" Kitty asked them, once the majority of the group was there. Logan was still running to catch up to them.

Remy nodded. "Remy found out where dey're keepin' Rogue, Wanda, an' Erik."

Pietro dropped Gracie, who fell to the ground with a short cry and a loud _flump_ before appearing right next to Remy and turning him to look at him. "Where is she?"

Logan caught up to them then. Breathing heavily and sweating profusely, he interrupted the conversations. "Time to go. We've got followers." They all glanced behind Logan where a good hoard of at least twelve mutants were following them.

Gracie clambered to her feet unsteadily as Remy grabbed her arm. "Let's go, _fille._ We stop for a breather later, _heh?_" As one, they all took off.


	37. Snake's Deception

**Rogue sank down into the bathtub with a soft sigh of contentment.**She turned let hot, soothing water cascade down over her sweat-cooled skin. From above, she was lightly sprinkled with the steamy substance as she sunk down into the filled tub. Rogue closed her eyes and let the feeling take over her. _God, this feels so good. Whoever invented tubs should be as rich as Bill Gates. _

With her eyes closed, Rogue could almost imagine that the water was little fingers, poking her with their heat before sliding down and disappearing into the mass of water she lay in. She fought to keep up the illusion in her mind. _They're lihke little fingers. _Rogue thought, striving to imagine another's touch without her absorption. _Just pokin' and proddin' at meh, slinkin' down mah skin. _She heaved a deep sigh as she sunk lower into the hot bath.

_Ah wish life could be this simple. Jus' sittin' down and relaxin' as someone rubs mah back and arms soothingly—oh, it feels lihke heaven._

_Remy would like t' be de one t' rub y' chere. _Remy's voice intruded in upon her thoughts, but his presence wasn't an unwelcome one. Still, his words made her color softly as her mind immediately incorporated him into her relaxing fantasy, him being the one to massage her back and shoulders, him soothing her comfortingly as she cudddled into his warmth. _Mmm._

_Ah want ta find ya again, Remy. Ah miss ya._

Remy smiled gently. _Y' jus' wait, Roguey, Remy bets that he's already on his way over here, lookin' t' save y' from all dis mess._

Still with her eyes closed, Rogue held up a hand and telepathically turned the spigot off before her hand lazily dropped back into the water. _Ah wish everythin' was that simple._ Rogue sighed. _Ah can't leave here till Ah'm all done bein' the muscle, ya know…_

_Y' always have a choice, Roguey. Y' could leave an' hide from dem all. Jus' absorb someone wit' cloakin' abilities. Y' can run away from it all. I'll go with y', even. Dey'll find somebody else after a time. Dis isn't y' fight._

_It is now. _Rogue relaxed her head back against the side of the tub. _It's right fohr meh ta stay here, Rems, Ah can't run from this. This…it's the professor's dream and these tyrants are screwin' it all up._

_But is it y' dream?_

_Mah dreams will have ta go on hold fohr a little bit._ Rogue sighed deeply again._ Ah cahn stand ta wait. It's been nearly four years since Ah've touched anyone without suckin' 'em dry. A couple of months or so more won't kill meh. _Rogue hesitated. _Remy…do ya think you…the other you, Ah mean. Do ya think he'll want ta be with meh after this is all done? _Rogue's voice was tentative, small and frightful. She was unconsciously biting her lip. _Ah've seen all the girls that you've been with an' Ah know that you don't really stay steady with any girls…except Belladonna that once, but…ya know what Ah mean? Ya aren't known for ya consistency an'…well, it's lihke Ah've had a closer relationship with ya in mah head, almost more than the real you._

_Roguey, it's true dat Remy's known a lot of filles, but y' one o' de only ones dat Remy could call a 'friend' first before dat. I always t'ought y' were beautiful, Rogue, even when we first met, but a real relationship's built off de sharin' an' comfort between two people. De way we talk t'gehter in y' mind, like. Y' jus' got t' tell Remy how y' really feel for him, chere. Y' two never got t' have dat talk before y' were sucked int' alla dis._

_Ya don't think you'll—he'll jus' dismiss meh after it all? _Rogue asked fearfully. _What if he gets bored an' doesn't want t' stay with meh? If Ah'm jus' a 'challenge' attraction?_

_Den 'm a fool, Rogue. It won' happen. Remy cares about y'—I care about y'. If I didn't, I wouldn't'a gone t' save y' when y' ran off t' Magneto's. _Remy gave her his trademark grin. _Trus' me, I know how dis t'ief dinks an' I wouldn't have come runnin' after y' like dat jus' for a paycheck or a challenge interest. Remy likes y', y' jus' gotta show him dat y' like him too._

_Thanks, Remy. _Rogue almost wanted to cry, she was so grateful for Remy-in-her-head. She didn't know how she'd be getting through this ordeal without him. He'd been a rock for her all this time.

Remy lightly started humming a deep Louisiana song from the south and Rogue felt herself drifting unceremoniously into a hazy state. It wasn't long after that she fell into a light slumber, dreaming of foreign voices clashing and rasping. It was not an easy sleep.

----

**Tessa stepped out of the shower with a towel held up high to her hair as she rung out the excess water. **She took the time to dry and straighten her hair, knowing that Shaw was fond most of it when it was down and he could touch its soft texture. Tessa got dressed quickly before exiting the bathroom. She shut the door of her shared bedroom closed and turned around to make her way to the dining hall, where she'd be meeting up again with Rogue for lunch.

Her progress was halted as Tessa turned around and came face to face with Sebastian himself. She jolted back in fright, momentarily alarmed, before relaxing back down with a hand over her heart. "You scared me."

Sebastian smiled softly. "My apologies, Tessa." He took her hand from her chest and cradled it in his own. "Would you like to go on a walk with me?" He asked her kindly.

Tessa knew the question was just for pretense. Even if she refused, which she wouldn't because that'd look suspicious, Shaw would still take a walk with her. _There go lunch plans. _She sent out a little telepathic message to Rogue. _I won't be able to make it to lunch. I'm sorry._ Tessa nodded to Shaw, smiling coyly. "Where would you like for us to go?"

"You choose, this time."

Tessa nodded and moved closer to pull him into her arms. Hugging him tightly to her chest, Tessa teleported away.

They appeared back into existence with a loud whip-crack. Shaw pulled away from Tessa and let his hand fall back into her palm as he observed their surroundings. "Greece again?" He questioned, taking in the serene, empty beach that Tessa had teleported them on. "You favor this country?"

Tessa nodded. "It's calm…peaceful."

Shaw smiled at her softly as he led to her a protruding rock for them to sit on and watch the waves. "I hope we can make this peaceful life come to us in America, too." He sat down and scooted over for her to sit next to him. "The quiet life does bring up happy illusions."

Tessa breathed in softly before resting her head on Shaw's shoulder as she stared out at the waves, mesmerized by their consistent push. Shaw adjusted on his rock to let her rest more comfortably before he turned out to the water too. "How has training been going?"

"Good." Tessa answered simply. "I think we're going to set a pace of about twelve mutants a day."

"Not more?" Shaw pushed. "Surely she could take in almost double that number."

Tessa didn't show any signs of her discomfort with the idea. "I don't want to push her too hard." Tessa explained. "She's new to all this and I don't want to frighten her by pushing in too many absorptions at once…" she knew Shaw wouldn't altogether be pleased with the answer, so she went on. "Besides, escalating so many abilities so quickly wears me down. I don't think _I_ could handle giving her more per day."

Shaw's tone softened. "Have the headaches returned?"

Tessa closed her eyes, letting the breeze give her all the comfort she needed. Shaw's hand on her own started stroking her fingers to soothe her. "They're not so bad." Tessa confessed, trying to make less of the pain that throbbed through her every time she helped Rogue learn control. "They just make me so tired."

Shaw was torn. He wanted to speed the process of Rogue's absorptions so that he could rush his plans, but his wife was in pain from them, it was clear. There was only so much she could do and offer. "Perhaps you should limit the number more." Shaw suggested. "Even five a day would work. It'd just make our goals take a little longer."

Tessa was relieved that he would even suggest it. She knew how goal-driven Shaw was. The fact that he was mentioning slowing down at all showed just how much he _did_ love and care for her. "Maybe I will."

Shaw ran a hand through Tessa's hair. "You're beautiful," he complimented out of the blue, still running his hand through her silky hair.

Tessa felt as if a knife were running her through. "Thank you." She responded softly. She hated it when he did this. Nobody saw the person behind Shaw; he was a power hungry tyrant who held himself up in self interest, true, but he also was a human man. Nobody knew the compassionate side of Shaw. They just saw the ruthless warrior who fought for control of his life. Shaw could be heartless and he was cruel as cold stone, she knew, and she liked seeing that part of him more. When he was like this, a sweet, caring, husbandly figure, it grated on her conviction to see the demise of this man.

It had started back a long time ago, beginning when Tessa had first started getting involved with him. Shaw hid his monstrous side from her and was only gentle in her presence. It was one of the first things Tessa had used to take advantage of him. He thought of her as ignorant to his inner workings and dirty deeds and Tessa used that to portray herself as an innocent little lamb. Shaw had taken to the fire and collected her up, claiming her as his own.

After the marriage, Tessa began to feel the first strings of regret. She had loved her fiancé and wanted to see him avenged, yes, but the working from the inside started to feel wrong. Like she had come in too close to Shaw and was using him shamelessly, the same way that he blindly tried to hide his darker side from her. Instead of mentally congratulating herself when Shaw was sweet and kind to her, Tessa felt empty and hollow. There was no more satisfaction for her where this man was concerned. Instead of feeling triumphant and victorious over her trickery with him, she felt like a sly, dirty deceptionist, come to cowardly lull him into a safe feeling.

The feeling that she had conquered this tyrant had brought her satisfaction at first. She had been proud to trick him, to claim her own vengeance for her fiancé's death. She felt that no more. Her anger had faded as time went on; she was still heartbroken over her loss, but the rage at the injustice in it all had dispersed. Without the rage, she lost the drive and satisfaction. She felt awful every time he was nice to her and the pain piercing her heart only strengthened with each passing moment.

She didn't want to see the human side of Shaw. She hadn't thought about it when she got into the marriage; she hadn't thought that her anger would fade to resignation or that Shaw would be extra careful with her, showing her only a kind, gentle man. Taking advantage of him, even though she knew it was right in the end because all the wrong he did had to be stopped, it felt wrong. Tessa knew the way she'd taken was the wrong path to choose. She didn't have the fire in her spirit that she once had. Instead, she'd been carved out and emptied. This past year had been torturous to her as she got caught in her own web, waiting to find some way to crawl out. That had finally come with Rogue.

The girl had no idea how much she really meant to Tessa. Tessa wanted to be her friend, yes, and she knew she owed it to Rogue to at least do that much for her. Rogue was going to bring her out of this hell, out of the Mutant Champions system that had sucked her in. Tessa was sorry that Rogue had to be involved at all—she reminded her a lot of herself, really. Young and innocent, getting caught up in a web that was so much bigger than her that she couldn't even contemplate what she was getting into. Tessa vowed to herself silently on the first day that she'd do everything in her power to bring up the fiery passion in Rogue that had once been alive in her.

Going through everything was so much easier when you had hatred on your side. So Tessa had told Rogue about her previous fiancé and told her not to hate, but she really was vying for the opposite effect. Rogue had reached out for the bait and took it like a hungry little fish. She had already started to despise the Mutant Champions. The rage would work well in her favor, Tessa knew.

Now that Rogue was here, an end to this all was in sight. Tessa evoked the hate in Rogue because she didn't believe Rogue would be involved for so long that the hate would have a chance to fade. No, now that Rogue was here, everything was moving quickly. Tessa only needed to teach the girl and let her become all-powerful before she made her move with Betsy. Then it would be all over. _Over._ Tessa mused. It was something she hadn't allowed herself to think of as she struggled through the months, fighting to cling to her hate and passion for the work they were doing. _But now an end is in sight. _She yearned for nothing more. She wanted this to be over, needed it to end before it consumed her soul entirely. _I just want to live my life._

"Tell me more about your sessions." Shaw commanded, still trailing his hand through her hair. Tessa liked it when he didn't ask. It just made it that much easier to see him as a tyrant, rather than the human side he hid within himself.

So Tessa told him. She explained to them all about how Rogue's control was coming on and all that she was teaching Rogue. She left out a few specific parts that Shaw really didn't need to hear about, but conveyed all her concerns about Rogue's absorption of so many people and the effect it would surely have on her mind. Tessa was the one who helped directly channel the floor of emotions and personality into a psyche so that Rogue wouldn't have to worry. She knew how Rogue's powers worked and she knew the effect the psyches had on Rogue's mind. She, more than anybody else, knew what could happen if Rogue took on too many personalities.

"You're concerned for her?" Shaw asked speculatively, hearing the worry in her voice as she spoke about the many absorptions Rogue was going through.

Tessa nodded softly, playing the innocent lamb flawlessly. "She's taking in so many different people, I know just how her mutation works. Taking in all of these different people isn't healthy for her. She could lose herself in a sea of other's thoughts and desires." _Not to mention how much harder it could be to use her for my freedom if she gets caught up in the desires of Mutant Champion members. _Tessa almost flinched visibly at the thought.

She hated the fact that she _was_ using Rogue to get away, but she really didn't see any way around it. Rogue was involved in this and she wasn't getting out either way. Was it so bad that she wanted to get out at the price of Rogue's innocence? _Yes. God, I'm such a horrible person. _Tessa loathed the mole she'd become, working around everybody to succeed in her own drives and ends. _First I used Shaw for vengeance, now I'm using a girl who shouldn't have ever gotten involved here to help me get out. I deserve to be here, miserable and married to this dictator. _Tessa's heart thumped heavily in her chest. She'd gotten into this so much…Rogue might be her only way out. _I'm a deceiver. _

"Aren't you helping her by maintaining her shields?" Shaw asked cautiously.

"Yes, but I don't know if that's going to be enough. Her mind is such a muddled mess, I don't know if my shields and her own will be able to hold out the flood when she's taking in so many new people a day."

_Perfect. Exactly how I need it. _Tessa's eyes flashed open at the words that echoed throughout her mind. Luckily, Shaw was resting with his head on top of hers as he cradled her against his chest, so he didn't see her eyes pop open at his stray thought. Tessa's jaw tightened in fright and she closed her eyes again as Shaw rested a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sure she'll be okay." Shaw soothed. "I can ask another telepath to reinforce your shields, if you think it'd help."

Tessa only just caught herself before shouting out a protest to that. Instead, she waited a moment and shook her head. "No, it wouldn't help. I'll do fine, I just have to reinforce them a bit more."

Shaw nodded. "Promise me you'll tell me if this is becoming too much for you. I can find someone else to help her if it's hurting you too much."

"I will." Tessa lied, only adding to her list of regrets and sins.

Shaw kissed the top of her head lightly. "I love you, Tessa."

Another spike of pain ran through Tessa's heart as her soul stained a deeper black. She had to physically fight the urge to cry at his words.

----

_**She's secretly plotting against us.**_

_What do you mean?_

_Look, I'll show you. _Images of her deception passed before her mind's eye. Her conversations with Tessa and her plotting to take down the Mutant Champions all flashed rapidly behind closed lids.

_The savior's working against us? _Another voice asked. It was Izzy. She sounded mystified.

_Of course she's working against us. _Zip criticized harshly. _Shaw doesn't really intend for HER to lead us._

_But I thought she was gunna save us? _The young girl Energizer piped up. _She made a deal—I healed her friend!_

_Here, you lunks._ Ziggy instructed them how to see and know everything in Rogue's mind. All Rogue's past experiences and life flashed through the eyes of her psyches and everyone hunkered back in understanding. _You can see everything in everyone's mind. You just have to focus and look. _

There was a long pause as everyone new digested this and focused on the minds around them. It only took a moment for everybody else to understand everything that every other psyche knew. Knowledge became one as the new psyches all took in the knowledge from one another.

_The Mutant Champions have killed people! _Christine called out in horror.

_Of course they have. _Circuit reprimanded. _How the hell else do you think an organization like this would survive and take control over humanity? There are always casualties in war._

_I never agreed to be a part of this! _Diora cried out. _The Mutant Champions are supposed to be a nonviolent mutant activist group! They-_

_Are involved in theft, violence, hostage taking, kidnapping, deception, trickery. _Electro finished. _No shit. That's how work gets done._

_But—_Argus' eyes were wide with shock. _Rogue isn't here to save us?_

_No, dumbass. _Dash answered snidely. _She's just a pawn like the rest of us. Shaw's the only king on this chessboard, we're all else just supposed to be used. _

_It's not like it matters. _Cantor argued. _We're all still going to get our goal in the end. We're working for Mutant Supremacy right? Well, Shaw's gunna give it to us. Who cares if he gets to be ruler afterwards? He deserves it._

_That's not what I signed up for. _Flip argued. _I thought we were working towards peace between us, not war!_

_You're an idiot, then. _Dash shook his head. _There's no 'peaceful' between mutants and humanity. They will always hate us. Look at history—we still have prejudice fools out there. This is the only way that it _could_ work._

_Who really cares whose side she's on? She's a babe! Are any of you guys focusing on the memories the same way I am? _Scarr was flipping through some of Rogue's more private memories.

_Hey, leave the kid alone. _Sor rebuked Scarr's actions. _Don't violate her like that. Come on, she's just a kid._

Scarr ignored him entirely.

_She's a betrayer to the cause! _Zip bit off. _Let him do what he wants, she deserves it._

_This girl is far from innocent._ Electro pointed out. _I doubt a little mind-prodding from Boner Boy is going to affect her._

_Hey! _Eyes blazing with red fire and lit up in fury, Remy walked into the Danger Room where all the mutants had converged together. _Y' better ret'ink de way y' botherin' Remy's fille._

Logan was behind him and his eyes were slits. Closely following him was Mystique and Erik, both who wore similar, grave faces. _I'm gunna carve your face a new one if ya keep thinkin' about it, Scarr._

Scarr jolted out his mental reprieve to see the angered father creeping towards him, two sets of foot long claws protruding from his knuckles. _Daddy's home._

Dash snickered. _Here come her troop of protectors. Trying to save your little daughter from getting her feelings hurt? Go on, come and try to catch me._

_Whoa! Stop! _Cantor glanced around at both sets of enraged mutants. _Let's all just calm down, alright? _

_What, are you siding with them now? _Ziggy stared down Cantor harshly.

_Nobody's taking sides here. _Sor stepped in to speak for Cantor, holding up his arms between the two. _We don't need to get into a fight about this._

_Oh really? _Zip asked nastily, glaring at Sor and Cantor. _Actually, I think that's the only way we're going to settle this. Seems to me like people are already taking sides. _He shot Sor an especially dirty look. _Yours is blatantly obvious, traitor._

_Guys. _Izzy interjected, desperately trying to reach everyone. _There's easier ways to get through this. It's just…all these new revelations are putting us on edge._

_Speak for yourself. _Dash spat nastily. _I always knew what the Mutant Champions were really about. That's why idiots like you all don't get promoted to the 'Elite'_

_The Elite's just a cover up for those who really know what this groups about. _Diora realized.

_We've all been unwittingly working for a ruthless tyrant! _Flip exclaimed.

_I don't understand. _Energizer was ready to cry. _Why would Mr. Shaw threaten the savior like that and hold her sister hostage?_

_He has to control her somehow, doesn't he? _Ziggy turned and blanched at Energizer. _Why the fuck would he even let you in? A little kid?_

_Because he's heartless and he'll use anybody. _Cantor had gained some of his confidence back.

_I can't believe that Lady Tessa or Lady Rogue would plot against us like this…_Argus lamented sadly. _Why?_

Dash shook his head. _What a moron._

Christine shot Dash a dark look. _Energizer, hunny, come with me. _She grabbed the little girl's hand and started for the exit.

_Where are we going? _Energizer asked innocently.

_We can play in one of the mansion's rooms together._ Christine spoke gently, leading the little girl away. She shot one last look at the group behind her before slipping out with the young child.

_We'll it's clear that there's two sides to this fight. _Cantor spoke again.

_Thanks, Sherlock. _Zip shot back nastily.

_You bastards will keep your distance. _Logan ordered, glaring at Zip, Ziggy, Dash and Circuit.

_What're you gunna do about it, hotshot? _Dash challenged, unafraid by Logan's claws. He knew he could outrun the mutant.

Erik snapped his fingers and the metal flooring around Dash's feet leapt up and curved around his ankles, locking him in place. _I suggest NOT making challenges that you will lose._

_Everybody who jus' found out de true colors of de Mutant Champions an' are appalled, y' free t' come with us._ Remy welcomed. _As for de rest o' y', don' 'cause trouble, ot'erwise y' be facin' all o' us._

Zip grabbed Dash's shoulder and teleported him a few feet to his left. Over half the mutants walked over to the other side of the gym, allying themselves against the Mutant Champion Elites. Sor was the first one to cross over, followed closely by Izzy and Flip. Diora hesitated for a moment in indecision before she ran over to catch up with Cantor. Scarr glanced between the two groups before staying put on Dash's side.

Ziggy gave them all withering looks. _You're fools, the whole lot of you. The fight is inevitable and Rogue—or rather, her powers—are key. You cannot stop this._

_We'll see about that, Bub. _He stepped forward threateningly, but Zip latched on to Circuit, Scarr, Electro, and Ziggy and disappeared in a flash. Dash glanced around, realized he was alone, and ran so fast that all anybody saw was a blur of color as he, too, disappeared from the room. Argus was the only one left who hadn't picked a side. He glanced at Remy's people with a sense of despair in his eyes and fell to his knees, dramatically dropping his head into his hands. Logan retracted his claws and turned around to the group of newcomers. Remy was already talking to the group.

_So jus' mind y' own business, go about whatever y' want t', an' try not t' get int' fights wit' dose ot'er guys. It's like y' live a mini-life in here. Y' be fine s'long as y' stay away from dose troublemakers. _

Logan grunted.

----

_**Come on **_Ziggy urged his companions. _I saw it in that Logan's thoughts. They're keeping two others here all locked up that would help us. One used to work under Magneto—a fire starter mutant. Rogue absorbed him when he was frying some humans and enraged—he's for the cause._

_And the other? _Zip asked.

_The other hates Rogue. _Ziggy answered simply. Circuit, Scarr, and Zip both nodded.

_I'm going to meet the Pyro. _Electro nodded at them. _Meet me there when you're done with the other. _He walked off without another word.

Ziggy conveyed the location to Zip in his mind and Zip again latched onto Circuit and Ziggy. He waited a moment for Dash to show up. He did only moments later and nodded, already knowing what they had talked about. He grabbed Circuit's shoulder and the four of them disappeared with a blinding flash.

They reappeared in a dank jail cell. There was a girl standing outside of the cell, she was talking to the inmate with a strained tone that conveyed her distress. _Secon, I—_she blanched at the appearance of the new mutants. Her surprised face suddenly turned to one of fear. _No! Don't come any closer! Leave him alone._

Scarr stepped forward with a wide grin. _Check out the shela. She's a strong one, she is. I can already tell. _He looked her up and down as his eyes roamed her body.

Carol stepped back against the cell in horror, pushing her back up against the bars. _Stop! I'm serious, stay away. _

Secon stepped up to the bars. _What's goin' on, Carol?_

Scarr licked his lips.

_Whoa, hey! Stay back, ya dirty mutant!_

Scarr leapt forward and tackled Carol. The two started rough-housing as Carol toppled to the ground and fell on her back. _I like a girl that puts up a fight._ Scarr blocked her as she fought to punch him and grabbed her fists in his hands, struggling to hold her down. _Damn girl, you've got the muscles._

_Let me go! _Carol struggled against Scarr, horrified that his strength matched her own.

Dash stepped up to the cage and looked Secon up and down. _He's just a measly human._

Secon reached through the bars and grabbed Dash's shirt, dragging him forward and slamming him against the bars. _Let her go, you dirty mutant!_

Dash laughed and smacked Secon so hard and fast at the temple that he dropped like a rock, unconscious. _He won't be of any use to us. Just leave him there._

_No,_ Ziggy agreed. _He won't. But she will._

Zip glanced over at Scarr, who had the frantic Carol Danvers pinned against the ground underneath him. He was leering over her face victoriously as she squirmed and fought to escape him. Zip could see that Scarr was going through her memories and searching out the ones that he liked best. _Okay pervert. _Zip tapped Scarr on the shoulder. _Knock it off. You can assault her all you want later. Knock her out already._

_She's damn near invulnerable._ Scarr protested, his eyes still flicking with memories.

Carol struggled beneath him. _No! Get outa my head! Let me go! _She had tears in her eyes.

_I've got it. _Ziggy stepped up beside Carol and her eyes widened in fright as she realized what he was about to do. Ziggy held a hand over her face and closed his eyes, manipulating the water molecules and spit in her throat to congeal and block off her airway. Carol choked as she fought to swallow the water mass that had build up in her airway. Eyes wide, Carol kicked and struggled, but Scarr held her firm. Her struggles weakened and she passed out moments later. Ziggy released his hold and her body worked to correct the damage.

_Circuit._ He called.

Circuit was already bending over and touched her forehead gently. Carol's relaxed form stiffened outward until all her limbs were rock solid, stuck in place. Scarr grinned and picked up her paralyzed body. _This one turns me on even more than Rogue._

_Okay, Hormonal Boy, let's go. It's time to collect up the Pyro._

They all latched onto each other and disappeared with a flash, leaving an unconscious human on the floor of the cell behind them.


	38. Secrets

**Rogue awoke with a jolt; water splashed over the edge of the tub as she flailed her arms for a grip on something, momentarily forgetting where she was. **It all came back to her quickly enough though, as Rogue steadied herself on the side of the tub and blinked several times to get her bearings. She breathed in heavily as she realized that she was okay and she shook her head lightly, clearing her thoughts. _How long have Ah been in here?_ Rogue wondered, looking around for a clock before remembering that that wouldn't help her.

Rogue sat up in the tub of now-cold water and shivered as she pulled the drain up. She grabbed a towel up off the floor and wrapped herself in it comfortingly, rubbing her legs and face to get them dry too.

_Oh! Ah didn't meet up with Tess!_ Rogue realized. _What if she's wondering where Ah am? Ah should go look fohr her._ With that thought in mind, Rogue set off getting dressed and presentable to be outside. When she was finished with her chores and her hair was dry, Rogue stepped out the door and began walking down the halls. _Ah don' even know where Tess's room is at._ Rogue thought, frowning. _She always jus' comes ta meh. _Rogue decided to check the kitchen. She didn't know how much time had passed since she fell asleep in the bathroom, but Tess might still be there waiting for her. After all, the woman was a telepath, wouldn't she notice Rogue had just woken up or something?

Rogue made her way through the long, winding hallways until she found herself in the cafeteria room. It was a wide, very open space that was dotted with tables and had vending along the walls and a line of people waiting for food. It looked just like a normal school cafeteria, Rogue marveled. _It's almost scary to think how normal this place looks. And to think, everyone in here is workin' fohr mutant liberation. Whether under the guise of 'the good guys' or not, everyone believes in the same thing here._

Mutant liberation. _Is it really such a bad thing?_ Rogue didn't think so, but she knew that this—Shaw's set up entirely, a set up for control—was not the way to go about gaining their rights. Rogue marveled at how history repeated itself so often. _First they persecuted blacks, now they persecute mutants—in Germany they framed Jews for their problems, it's lihke we always need a target. Mutants are just the new handy people ta frame it on. _Rogue's eyes scanned all the tables methodically, but she didn't see Tess among them. She wasn't in the line either, or by the vending.

_Ah wonder where she is. Ah wish Ah knew how much time went bah while Ah was sleepin'. _Rogue glanced at the plates to see what kind of food everyone was eating. She was surprised to see breakfast foods on everyone's plate. _Has yesterday already gone bah? Is it tomorrow already? That doesn't make any sense, why wouldn't Tess come get meh in the mornin' lihke she always does? We'd have ta go through more absorptions today, wouldn't we?_ The whole situation was confusing and Rogue didn't understand it. She turned and walked out of the cafeteria, instead randomly walking through the halls and wandering around somewhat aimlessly.

_Should Ah just head off to the Practice Arena? _Rogue wondered. She didn't have anything else to do. She didn't really _know_ anybody here except for Tess and Tess, it seemed, was elsewhere busied. _Ah suppose so._ Rogue turned her route down another hallway as she tried to remember the way back to the Practice Arena. _Why is it so quiet? _She wondered vaguely, taking another turn down a long corridor.

_Hey, Logan, Remy, ya up there? Cahn ya help meh out? Am Ah goin' the right way?_ Rogue ventured softly. She didn't like that it was so still. The quiet crept her out.

Surprisingly, no one answered her mental call. Rogue frowned. Before she could send out another mental call, she came across a huge doorway that looked like the one in front of the Practice Arena. _Oh, guess Ah'm here anyway. Maybe they were silently directing meh._ Still, it bothered her. Why didn't they answer her? Rogue stepped up to the keypad and flicked it on by inserting her palm into the scanner. A light bleeped after a moment and Rogue spoke into the microphone experimentally. "Marie." She recalled. "Verification code 58392, codename Rogue." She stepped away from the pad and waited half a moment more.

"Marie not recognized." An electronic voice responded softly. "Access denied."

Rogue blinked. _Not recognized?_ The memory of her first experience with the electronics hit her. _Oh! Tessa said Ah'd have ta say 'uhm' every time, didn't she? Mah bad._

Rogue reached her hand in the scanner again. It scanned her hand for a second time before Rogue spoke into the speaker again, this time remembering to say 'uhm' before her first name. Rogue stepped back once more and waited for the doors to open. Instead, the same electronic voice answered her. "Uhm…Marie not recognized. Access denied."

Rogue frowned at the keypad. _What do ya mean, 'not recognized'? What is this—Ah'm in the system, Ah swear!_

"Rogue!" A desperate voice called out from behind her. Rogue turned to see Tessa. She blinked in surprise as Tessa raced up to Rogue's side and grabbed her gloved hand, tugging her back down the hall she'd just come from. "What are you doing down here?" Tessa hissed, and Rogue could hear the fear in her voice. _How did she find out about here? _Tessa wondered silently. _She shouldn't be here! No!_

"Whattya mean, what am Ah doin'? Ah'm goin' ta the Practice Arena." Rogue saw Tessa glance upwards at the ceiling briefly before tugging her more firmly. _The cameras certainly caught her. I hope she didn't try to get in or anything._

"That's not the way to the Practice Arena." Tessa told her stiffly, still dragging her away from the doors. "That's a restricted area."

"Restricted?" Rogue asked, wondering what was behind those doors that Tessa was freaking out about so much. "Ah didn't know—what's it blocked off fohr?"

"I don't know." Tessa responded quickly, too quickly, Rogue thought. "But we're already late for your morning sessions, so we've gotta get going."

Rogue frowned. _What's going on, Tess? _Rogue sent the thought as a telepathic projection to Tessa."Ah was lookin' for ya." Rogue announced defensively. "Where were you?"

"I was sleeping." Tessa shook her head lightly. _Don't worry about it, Rogue. It's not your concern. _It certainly wasn't, but it was going to be on Tessa's worry list. Once Shaw saw that Rogue was in that corridor, he'd get suspicious. There was almost nil chance that Rogue simply wandered there by accident, considering what was behind the door. He'd be suspicious of her, she knew. Tessa was the one who spent the most time with Rogue _and_ she was telepathic. It didn't look good that Rogue was nosing around areas she shouldn't know existed. "I overslept."

Rogue's frown deepened. "Not that Ah've known ya fohr all that long, but Tess, that doesn't sound lihke ya. You okay?" _What aren't you telling meh, Tess? What's behind those doors?_

_Nothing you need to worry about. _Tessa responded. "It's not like me. I can't believe I did it—I'm sorry I wasn't there this morning."

Rogue's jaw tightened. _You're hiding somethin' from meh! _"Strange, that you'd oversleep _this_ morning…" Rogue trailed off.

"_It's not your concern!_" Tessa finally snapped, horrified at Rogue's words. She knew Rogue was suspicious of secrets Tessa might be hiding from her and that Rogue meant something entirely different by her spoken words, but that didn't change the fact that they were being watched right now. Rogue's suspicious questions made it look like Tessa was hiding something from Shaw; Rogue was painting her guilty picture.

Tessa wanted to cry when Shaw's voice echoed through her head. _Tessa, we need to talk._

Tessa's heart was thumping rapidly. She tried not to be obvious about it as she struggled to calm her racing pulse.

Rogue was taken aback by Tessa's tone and the way her grip tightened on her wrist, squeezing at what would otherwise be a painful grip, if it weren't for Rogue's mutations. Rogue's eyes flitted over Tessa's face and observed the way that Tessa tried to keep a straight face, keep calm and cool, trying not to break down.

_She's hiding something. Somethin' important. _Rogue realized that she'd never be able to trust Tessa entirely. _She may be on mah team right now fohr bringin' down the Mutant Champions, but this is a girl who's been scarred severely an' has a vengeance agenda. Ah obviously don' know everythin' an' Tessa's purposefully keepin' it from meh. Ah can't trust her. Not entirely, at least._ _Ya cahn be mah 'friend' Tessa and sometimes mah confidante, but Ah won't blindly follow you._

Rogue kept quiet as they made their way back through winding hallways and into a more familiar path that led to the steel doors. Shaw was waiting outside the doors. Rogue blanched for a second at his furious expression before Tessa pushed her towards the panel and told her to put in her code. "I'll be right there, Rogue." Tessa assured her. "Go on ahead."

Glancing back at the two doubtfully, Rogue put in her information as Shaw grabbed Tessa's forearm tightly and they disappeared around the corner.

-----

**Shaw threw open a door along the side and pushed Tessa in roughly.** Tessa tripped and nearly collided headfirst into the wall before catching herself and turning around abruptly.

The door slammed behind Shaw as he turned on her and backhanded her across the face. Tessa stumbled into the opposite wall as Shaw gripped her hair tightly and pulled back her head, raising it from the ground to look at him. "You told her!" Shaw roared in fury. "Damnit Tess, you told her!" He hauled back and smacked her against the face again.

Tears sprung to Tessa's eyes as her head whipped in the other direction from the force of his blow. "I didn't!" She cried out desperately, already feeling her face start to bruise and swell up. "I didn't tell her!"

Shaw's grip in her hair tightened as he pulled at her roots, keeping her face up straight and looking at him. He looked livid. "Then _why_ was she at the blast doors, trying to get passed! He yelled in her face, glowering as she flinched away. "She was _right there!_ With all the powers she has, she could get past the door in a heartbeat! And then where would we be? She's only helping us because we have _leverage_ against her!"

"I didn't tell her!" Tessa cried out, trying to prevent the tears from falling from her watery eyes and ignore the throbbing pain in her face. "She doesn't know what was behind those doors!"

"Arrgh!" Shaw growled menacingly and flung Tessa from his grasp, pushing her away violently. Tessa hit the ground harshly and rolled until her head struck against the bottom of a dresser. "Tessa, I _know_ you." Shaw stood above her, glaring downwards. "I know you feel bad for the silly girl, but this is our _salvation_! She's our only hope and she's going to bring us to our rightful status! But she's not gunna do that of her own volition—she doesn't care herself! You told her that we had her friend here to help her, get her to trust you and feel better, didn't you?"

"I didn't tell her!" Tessa protested. "On our marriage bed, I swear it to you Shaw!"

Shaw looked up at her sharply, still glaring. "Perhaps this job _is_ becoming too much for you. I should find someone else to help her."

"It's not too much!" Tessa shook her head, gathering herself on the floor as she picked herself up. She wavered for a minute, unsteady. "You _know_ there's no one else with the power to boost other powers, Shaw. I can do this—I promise."

Shaw was shaking his head, still glaring harshly, but his anger had calmed slightly after knocking her around a bit. "Regardless of what she knows, Tessa, we're going to fix this. You're going to erase this morning's encounter from her mind entirely, understand?"

Tessa nodded mutely, swiping the side of her hand across her mouth. It came away smeared with blood.

Shaw narrowed his eyes. He turned to go. "Stay here, I'll send Energizer in to heal you before you go back in to train her. We obviously can't have you going back in looking like that." He paused at the door. "Don't fail me again, Tessa." He left, leaving Tessa alone, bruised, and bleeding. Only when the door had shut behind him did Tessa collapse on weak knees and let the tears fall.

-----

**Rogue frowned when Tessa reappeared at the door to the Practice Arena. **She strode up to Rogue quickly, where Rogue stood next to the first of the mutants who would be absorbed today. Not bothering to say anything or give Rogue any kind of explanation, she gestured towards the first mutant in the chair. "Let's get started." She mumbled softly, seating herself on the floor next to the mutant.

_What is going on with her?_ Rogue wondered, eyeing Tessa suspiciously on the ground. _Even her actions are weird—she's never sat during lessons before._

_Tess? _Rogue ventured, wondering where the angry, frantic, panicking woman from just ten minutes ago had gone.

Tessa cleared her throat awkwardly. "Rogue?" She gestured towards the mutant sitting down.

_Okay, so she doesn't want ta talk. _Rogue thought, stepping up to the mutant and reaching out a hand. She noticed Tessa's closed eyes before she touched the mutant and was washed over in the enticing feeling of foreign energy coursing through her veins again. Rogue sighed deeply. _God, this feels so good. Ah really shouldn't feel this relieved when Ah touch someone an' feel this—it's jus' wrong._ Regardless her thoughts on it, Rogue let the sensation roll over her without protesting it too badly this time. _Ah need ta feel good sometimes. _She reasoned.

When Rogue pulled away, she was experiencing the appealing lure and rush of bubbling energy inside her again. She glanced over at Tessa briefly—and blanched as she saw Tessa move back a strand of hair from her face. Right there, along the side of Tessa's palm, was a long, straight smear of blood that stretched from the bottom of Tessa's pinky to the edge of her wrist. _Is that Tessa's blood or…someone else's?_ Rogue wondered cautiously.

Before she could think any more on it, Tessa started mastering the power she'd just absorbed for her—Invisibility from Zaack'ar—and showing her all the finer points of the power. Rogue quickly turned on Sor's pain-blocking ability before another otherwise-painful wave passed through her.

By the time Tessa had finished 'escalating' that ability, two of the mutants with the passed out one were already halfway out the door, dragging Zaack'ar with them. Rogue looked over again at Tessa's hand. "You've got some blood on you." Rogue pointed out experimentally, eyes locked on Tessa's face to judge her reaction.

"I am?" Tessa asked, shaking her head as if in a daze. "Where?"

"Ya hand." Rogue nodded as Tessa picked up her hand and flinched at the smear of blood along her palm.

"Oh-heh." Tessa gave a very unconvincing hollow laugh. "That-I cut my hand this morning in the shower."

_This morning?_ Rogue thought silently. _When ya woke up late an' rushed ta find meh somewhere where Ah shouldn't have been? Interesting that ya managed to get in the shower on such a rushed schedule…_

Tessa must have heard the thought, Rogue had directly aimed it at her, but she didn't respond, other than to rub her palm against the side of her jeans. _Blood doesn't come out that easy._

_Tessa, Ah understand that there are some things that ya can't tell meh, but-_

_This is one of those things. _Tessa interrupted. _Stop thinking about that door, Rogue. _Tessa commanded. _It doesn't matter what's there, okay? Just leave it alone._

_And ya hand? Is that 'none of mah business' too?_ Rogue shot back suspiciously.

Tessa winced, looking away. _It doesn't matter._

_How am Ah supposed to put mah trust in you when ya hide all these things from meh?_

_It's for your own good. And my hand is just…private._ Tessa responded tersely. _Don't pry._

Rogue shook her head as the mutants lined up for her again. Rogue and Tessa went through the same cycle again, going through six more mutants: Ellen the Fire Breather, Adam, aka Pipedream, Charade the Convincer, Jason the Slapshot, Rewind who could take back the moment, and Leskley, who was human silly puddy.

By the time Rogue shook off the six one, she glanced up once again at Tessa as she always did between every touch. She blanched first, then rushed to Tessa's side.

"Tess! You're bleedin'!"

Tessa was lying on her back with a hand on her head, looking slightly dazed with a hand resting against her head as she winced. Lifting her other hand to her face, she wiped her hand under her nose where it came away bloody. She held up the hand as Rogue prepared to bring Energizer's powers to the forefront. "It's okay." She said, wiping her other hand under her nose too. "Just a nosebleed."

"Just a nosebleed? Tess, you look like death warmed!"

It was true too, Tessa was unnaturally paler than usual and she kept closing her eyes softly, cradling her head in her palm. "No—I'm fine." Tessa insisted. "See? It already stopped bleeding. It's just a headache—I'm fine. Let's continue." She tried to sit up.

Rogue pushed her back down—gently. "Continue?" Rogue shook her head. "No, no we're not going on today, Tess, you need a doctor."

Tessa suppressed a moan as Rogue knelt beside her. "No, no doctor. I'm fine, Rogue, really." She tried sitting up again and her vision swam dangerously. Hiding it as much as she could, Tessa braced herself on her arms in a sitting position. After a moment, the world returned to normal, if a bit blurred. "See?" Tessa persisted. "I'm okay."

Rogue was looking at her doubtfully. "Ah think we should get ya in a bed."

Tessa shook her head. "We've only got three more today—I'm fine, don't worry."

"Tess—" Rogue started.

"No!" Tessa finally barked out. "We only have three more! Let's just get 'em done with, Rogue—this is what I want."

Feeling like this was not the best idea at all; Rogue stood up and gritted her teeth. "Are you sure? Tess, Ah just—Ah don't think it's good fohr ya." Rogue hadn't ever thought of it before, but all the work that Tessa was doing with her, all the help she was giving her—it was using Tessa's powers to the extreme every time they 'helped' one of Rogue's abilities along. It must be exhausting! She was constantly using her powers to try to help Rogue master hers—and she didn't have any excess, foreign energy to draw upon.

"It's only three." Tessa insisted, sounding like she was trying to convince herself just as much as she was convincing Rogue.

Unable to dissuade her, Rogue readied for the next absorption. She went through Slick the Vampire first. When Tessa had finished with him, Rogue asked her again to quit, but she refused. Next was Razor, the Sharp Edge. Tessa winced horribly with this one and clutched her head in pain. Before she had even finished mastering the ability for Rogue, Rogue had enough. Stepping forward in the middle of the procedure and grabbing Tessa by the shoulders, Tessa cried out and spasmically thrashed for a second before opening her eyes and realizing that Rogue had cut off the connection.

Rogue didn't like what she saw. Tessa's eyes were bloodshot and skin was deathly pale, paler than Rogue's own, which was pretty damn pale in Rogue's book. Rogue shook her head. "Ah don' know how to heal ya." Rogue told Tess. "Energizer's gotta know a specific problem ta help a person—do y'all have a medical lab here?" Rogue hefted Tessa up in her arms and started carrying her out of the arena.

Tessa winced, curled up and still cradling her skull. "I don't need a doctor."

"Lihke hell, ya don't." Rogue snorted. "You're almost as stubborn as meh."

Tessa smiled briefly at that before wincing and grabbing her skull again. "It's just a migraine, Rogue, I'm okay."

"We'll let the doctor be the judge'a that. Now, which way to the medical lab?"

Rogue carried her as Tessa reluctantly gave her directions to their 'hospital'. When Rogue got there, she snagged away one of the doctors and showed them Tessa, explaining what had happened and what her symptoms were. Tessa dozed, zoning out as Rogue spoke to the doctor. The guy nodded and recorded Rogue's comments down on a chart before excusing himself and taking Tessa with him to go take some tests. He said it would be awhile.

Rogue wanted to sit down and wait to hear what was wrong, but the medical wing obviously wasn't built with a waiting room and she kept getting in the way of other doctors milling around. Not only that, but Rogue had absorbed a total of nine people that morning and she couldn't seem to keep still. Without their usual exercise directly following the absorptions, it was amazing she had managed to stay still this long.

Rogue made her way back through the halls and into the Practice Arena. She had to work off some steam from all her absorptions. It was there that Rogue spent the rest of her morning, working off some of the excess energy she had taken in.

Afterwards, Rogue thought about going to the cafeteria to get something to eat—she hadn't eaten since yesterday morning—but she found that she wasn't hungry. Knowing how long it'd been since her last meal, she grabbed a banana anyway and tried not to focus on how she couldn't be hungry after nearly a whole day of not eating.

Rogue tried checking in on Tessa then, but the doctor said that they were still testing and to come back later. Rogue left without answers and returned to her room. Bored beyond all belief, Rogue lay on the bed and sighed deeply, wondering what she could do to pass the time.

_Ah could go to that locked room an' see what's there._ A tiny voice hinted to her, one that Rogue knew inside herself. _No…_ Rogue thought. _Ah can't. Tessa was so upset this mornin' when Ah was found there. If she says it's none of mah business, then it's not._

Rogue found herself arguing with herself. _But Tessa was hiding something from meh…_

_Still. There's probably some things Ah shouldn't know about this place. Tessa was probably jus' tryin' ta protect meh._

_Probably, right?_

Despite herself, Rogue found that she was rising from the bed and going to the door. She hesitated. _Ah shouldn't do this. Tessa's on mah side in this an' she told meh not to…_

_But what's behind that door?_

_Is it worth it? Ah can't very well walk right in anyway, Ah don't have clearance ta that room. Unless…_

_Unless Ah don't have to open the door._ Rogue thought sneakily. _Ah did jus' absorb invisibility today, didn't Ah? _Torn with indecision, Rogue bit her lip. _What ta do, what ta do? _She sighed deeply. _Who am Ah kiddin'? Let's go check it out._

_Curiosity killed the cat! _Rogue thought ironically, turning on Zaack'ar's invisibility and leaving the room. Rogue began retracing her steps to the locked room.

-----

"**I never even knew they had Rent-A-Buses!" **Jubilee called out jubilantly, clambering up the steps noisily. "Road trip, everyone!"

"This is so cool!" Bethany agreed, following Jubilee up the bus stairs.

"It is convenient." Sam pointed out reasonably, slipping into a seat with his sister, holding her hand reassuringly. "We never would have fit into a mini-van or anything. Who would have guessed they had places where you could rent these things?"

"Good thing Philip heard about them!" Siren pointed out.

"God, I'm so hungry." Philip complained. "Aren't you guys hungry?"

"You just ate." Sparks snapped nastily. "How much food can you consume at a time?"

"He's got an advanced metabolism." Zack defended him. "Leave him alone."

Kurt crawled into the driver's seat. "Settle down, everybody, settle down."

"Where are we going?" Magenta asked softly, settling into a seat next to Bethany.

"We're going to the White House!" Siren announced before looking back at Kurt. "I mean, we are, aren't we?"

"Ves." Kurt agreed, nodding. "Zat is where we are going. We need to speak to Hank."

"I still feel bad about tricking that lady." Paige said quietly. "What if she gets in trouble?"

Jubilee brushed her off. "She's not going to get in trouble. Don't worry about it, Husky. That woman had it coming to her. I'm tellin' ya, Karma, my friend."

Sparks rolled his eyes. "If Karma were real, we'd all be rich for being thrown into this situation in the first place. That's a buncha hogwash."

"Hey!" Jubilee turned to him. "No one asked for your opinion, short-circuit."

"I am _not_ going to listen to your racket for the rest of this trip, either." Sparks sneered. "Go blind a fly, won't you?"

Philip whined loudly again before the two could go at each other's throats. "Can we stop to get something to eat?"

Paige held up her McDonald's burger to him. "I already had my first and I'm not hungry enough for this one."

Philip jumped up happily. "Really?!" Paige nodded and he took it from her hands. "Thanks!"

"You'd be fat as a hippo if you didn't have that metabolism of yours." Sparks shot out nastily, just looking for a fight.

Philip shrugged. "You're probably right."

"Yeah, I know I am." Sparks snapped, angry that he wasn't getting a rise out of him. He turned to Paige instead, a favorite target of his. "You know, you're going to hell for tricking that lady. What you did? It was thievery."

Paige looked away and down at the ground, her guilt rising.

"Enough of you." Jubilee stood on her seat and jabbed a flat hand at Sparks neck.

Sparks started choking and clutched his throat desperately. "Bitch!" He managed to get out, before choking again, his eyes tearing.

"Look who's talking." Jubilee gloated at him arrogantly.

Rahne shook her head, watching the scene play out. "The maturity level in this bus, I'm telling ya."

Zack smiled at her briefly before speaking. "How're you doing, Rahne? You haven't spoken much since…you know."

"I've been thinking about it." Rahne admitted, glancing out the window beside her. "I don't like wolfing out. It scares me."

"Hey." Zack gripped her hand lightly in her lap. "It's okay."

"I'll show you, firework!" Sparks shouted as sparks flew from his fingers wildly.

From behind him, Paige slammed down a diamond fist on top of his head. Sparks crumpled into his seat, unconscious. Jubilee lifted an eyebrow at the otherwise timid girl before her. "He was being mean…" Paige explained.

Jubilee smiled widely and clapped once before holding up her hand for a high five. "Whoohoo! You go girl!" Paige hesitantly smiled too and stood up in the seat to clap Jubilee a high five.

At the front of the bus, Kurt shook his head dismissively. "Vis is gunna be one long ride." He muttered silently.


	39. Traitors

**Shaw nodded to Callisto as he paced the length of the secure room they were in. **"I've recently come to question the loyalty of one of our most prized assets." Shaw began, not even sparing Callisto a look of acknowledgement. "And it will be a pity if I'm right—a great pity indeed, but it's something I have to know. We cannot have a mole in our midst."

Callisto frowned. "You're not talking about me, sir?"

"Look at you, always thinking it's about you. No, Callisto, I am not questioning your loyalty."

"Then who?" Callisto asked. "Is there someone you want me to take care of?"

"No, don't always think with your knives, Callisto." Shaw admonished. "It's unbecoming. No, there are more...subtle ways to determine someone's loyalty." He handed her a packet of papers and instructed her what to say.

Callisto waited until he had finished giving her direction before she asked. "Can't you simply do this, sir? No offense, but I'm not a messenger girl."

"No, I cannot be the one to give it to him and order him to do so. You must. I am to remain an enigma from all this. Now go, and don't question my order so much."

Callisto turned and left, leaving Shaw alone in the room. Shaw turned once more and paced the room again. "I hope not, beautiful nymph, but if you prove to be the thorn on the rosebud, I will crush you without a second thought." Shaw shook his head. "We'll see just where your desperation takes you. You better pray it's into my arms." He closed his fist and turned his head in the direction of their shared room. "Good luck, my angel. I truly hope you pass."

-----

**Rogue crept quietly along the hallways, picturing the passageway in her mind as she remembered it when Tessa found her and started to drag her away. **Being invisible eliminated the need to try to sneak past any cameras or anything, but Rogue didn't know if their video cameras had sound or what. The last thing she wanted to do was to accidentally cough or step into someone and reveal her presence.

Not that there was anybody to step into. No, the corridors around here were all empty. As much as Rogue appreciated the lack of people-for there'd be less chance of discovery-the thought also intrigued her greatly. What were they hiding that no one in the building walked around or guarded? Rogue didn't know about the inside of the room, of course, but she was still suspicious as to why there weren't any guards outside or around the room. Maybe they just didn't want to attract attention to the area.

_None of it makes sense._ Rogue was still hesitant about being here in the first place. She knew she shouldn't. If she got caught, she'd probably get a good whoopin' for snooping around when she was warned away, but she couldn't help herself. She had to know what was behind those doors.

Rogue turned the last corner and came up just before the doors. There they stood, tall and intimidating, lone and solid, untouched.

This proved to be the dilemma that Rogue had yet to solve in her head. She knew there were cameras all over the place, so she couldn't force her way in, but she hadn't seen _anybody_ around here either. How was she to get inside?

Rogue pondered over this and wondered for a good long while, pacing softly before the door. _If Ah jus' had some form of telepathy._ Rogue thought cursingly. _Ah could convince someone else ta open this damn door fohr meh an' then erase their thoughts of it afterwards. Ah wish Tess would have let meh touch her before this—but then again, Tessa wouldn't approve of meh doing this._

Thoughts of Tessa led Rogue to thinking about how strangely and secretive Tessa was behaving this morning. _Ah hate it when she keeps things from meh. If she had jus' told meh what was behind the doors, Ah wouldn't even have ta be here at all. And what was with the blood on her hand?_

Rogue paused in her pacing as a thought hit her. _Did Tessa hurt someone? Kill them? She was acting all shifty and got so mad when Ah asked about it._ Rogue hated even the thought that the woman she was working with might have murdered someone. _But she said that Shaw doesn't think she knows about the 'darker' side to this institute. She couldn't have gone on an assassination mission then or anything lihke that…but still. The excuse she gave meh this morning? Slept in? In only the brief time Ah've known her, Ah know that's not very likely._

Tessa was a puzzle. Rogue wanted to trust the other girl, she really did, and she felt bad about having her doubts of her, but in the end, she really just couldn't put her whole faith in Tessa. _There's just too many unanswered questions where she's concerned._

As Rogue was musing over these things, the blast doors behind her suddenly pulled open. Rogue spun on her heel, still invisible, and watched a man in a doctor's coat walk out. The doors started to close behind him.

Not thinking of the consequences of such an action, Rogue raced through the doors quickly with Dash's superspeed. She had just made it inside as the doors pulled shut behind her, locking her in. Not focusing on that for now, Rogue glanced around the room.

It looked like a normal hospital room, exactly like the ones downstairs, except with less people. _Scratch that, with almost no people._ Rogue corrected, glancing around at the empty tables around her. There were only two people in the room, guards by the look of it, but they weren't dressed up or anything. No, these two stood—or sat, more accurately—guard to a back door that led to another room beyond. The window was black, so Rogue couldn't see anything inside, but she was betting that that was where she'd find her hidden prize.

Suddenly, one of the guards lifted his head and sniffed the air. "I smell something." He announced loudly to his partner, glancing over at the girl. "There's someone here."

_Shit! Of course they'd be mutants! Ah'm so stupid!_ Rogue mentally cussed as the one who 'sniffed' her stood up. _Ah can't leave evidence that Ah've been here._ Rogue realized. _There goes the plan of simply knockin' 'em out. Damn, Ah wish Ah had telepathy._

But then another idea hit her. As Sniffs-A-Lot smelled at the air, Rogue focused her attention and closed her eyes as she brought forth Rewind's powers of turning back the clock. Rewind couldn't take back a lot of time, it was true, but Rogue didn't need a lot of time. She just needed to go back before Sniffy sniffed her out and blatantly announced it. She aimed the power at the two mutants across the room from her and smiled in satisfaction when Sniffy took a step backwards and sat back down. Rogue gave herself half a moment before he noticed her before she released them from her Rewind control.

As soon as she'd let them go, Rogue focused her attention on both of them and knocked them up with pipedreams. As their minds wandered and their eyes lost focus, Rogue slipped through the door behind them without either of them noticing. She carefully set the door back in place, smiling cockily, before she turned around—and froze.

The room she had entered was just a little one. Only big enough to hold two patient-tables, it was about the size of a small bedroom. Wires and cables were hooked up to the beds and little IV's stuck out of the two patients that the room held. Strapped down to their beds with reinforced metal, Erik Lensherr and his daughter Wanda Maximoff were unconscious and obviously drugged to stay that way. Rogue almost let her invisibility slip, she was so caught of guard by the sight of them.

Both had breathing apparatuses attached over their mouths and Rogue had no doubt that they kept them unconscious by the many IV's sticking out of their bodies and the poison they must be breathing in from those machines. Her heart thudded heavily in her chest.

_Wanda. They brought you here! Here! Ta the same buildin' that Ah'm trapped in too!_ The sheer arrogance of the act struck Rogue as audacious. _Ya really right here an' your okay. Your alive an' breathin' an' here! _It took all Rogue's force of will to stop herself from throwing her arms around Wanda and hugging her. _You're alright…_

Rogue had been told that Wanda was okay and she'd physically seen her come back to life in Magneto's old warehouse, but there was something different about it this time. Wanda was physically there, right in front of Rogue, within reach this time. And they were alone. _Wanda…Ah miss ya. Ah miss ya so much. Ah don't even have a little mini-you anymore. God, it's been so hard, if only you've seen what Ah'm goin' through._

It was so hard to look and not touch, but Rogue knew she couldn't get any closer. She couldn't lay her hand against Wanda's, not even through her gloves. She could give no indication that she was here. So Rogue stood on, watching as a ghost.

She stayed that way for a long time, silently talking to Wanda and receiving no answer or anything of the sort. It was breaking her heart to just look on and know that she couldn't help Wanda, she couldn't break her out of those cords and free her. She had to remain absent, gone, there only in spirit.

_That's why she wouldn't tell meh. _Rogue realized. _There's nothing Ah cahn do about it. Tessa was just…protectin' meh from the helplessness of it all._

Rogue heard the guards in the other room start to talk with Logan's sensitive hearing. _Ah guess it's tahme ta go. _She swallowed thickly. _Wanda, Ah'll be back, okay? Ah promise Ah'll come back. _With that silent promise, Rogue shut her eyes tightly and imagined her room. Zip had to know a place to teleport there, just the way Kurt did, and she was familiar with her room, the way she was now familiar with this room. It wouldn't be hard to come back anymore.

Rogue opened her eyes once more to find herself in her own bedroom once again. She breathed in deeply and hung on to her invisibility for a moment longer, walking into the bathroom before becoming visible again, just in case her room was watched. Rogue sighed deeply as she walked back into her bedroom and plopped down into the bed. _Gracie wasn't there._ Rogue realized. _Could Shaw be bluffin' about having her?_ She'd have to ask Tessa when she saw her again. For now, Rogue was just exhausted.

_Well, mah first undercover mission went well. Too bad Ah can't really talk about it ta anyone. _Rogue closed her eyes before the thought hit her. _Logan! Remy! Gracie! Is anyone there?_ She sent out a mental calling to them all.

Gracie was the first to answer. _Ah'm sure Ah'm fahne, Marie—the other meh, that is._

_Gracie! _Rogue called out happily. _Where have ya been? Where's everyone else? Ah've missed y'all!_

_Sorry we didn't respond earlier, darlin'. _Logan apologized. _We were busy._

_Busy?_ Rogue asked.

_Oui, but we here now. _Remy agreed. _How's ma Cherie doin'? Remy see dat y' been keepin' busy in our absence._

_Don' say it. _Rogue warned. _Ah had ta go see. Ah jus' had to._

_No problem, Cherie._ Remy shrugged. _Dat jus' make it dat much easier when I-de other me-come in here t' bust y' an' dem out. Remy see dat y' been tryin' out y' new powers too—very impressive, Roguey._

Rogue blushed as she settled into her blankets, feeling a familiar warmth flow through her at the presence of the calming psyches, even as Logan started to protest over Remy's flirtations with her. It just all felt so…homey, Rogue supposed. Homey like a normal family, as if Logan were a normal father who was displeased with her boyfriend and Gracie chimed in with cute comments over the whole conversation. Rogue closed her eyes again as she fell into this beautiful comfort she'd come to know. After all, everyone deserved an escape, didn't they?

-----

**Tessa stared down at the paper the doctor had presented her with in absolute, unbridled horror. **She was numb, that's what it was, she decided. She couldn't believe what the doctor had told her or what the paper confirmed. Her world was fading around her fast and she was caught in the middle of it.

"A-Are you sure?" She asked stutteringly, losing her normal composure as her expression crumpled.

"I'm sorry, Tessa." The doctor apologized, wearing the face of one who had given out too much bad news in his life. "It's a malignant, primary brain tumor that started its growth above the medulla. As it grew, it started pushing out against your temporal and occipital lobes. It's actually a miracle that you haven't lost any vision, speech, auditory, or memory functions yet." Memories of her blurred vision plagued her mind from that morning.

"Yet…" Tessa mumbled softly, overwhelmed, she could barely utter words. "How…how did this happen?" Her throat was dry, but she couldn't think to bring the cup of water from the tableside to her hands to drink from. She felt so lost…lost and alone.

"That's the confusing part." The doctor spoke gently. "Originally, we'd be able to spot a tumor like this from a mile away. The symptoms alone should have shown a direct path to this—but you didn't have any symptoms. This is because the brain tumor appeared only recently, perhaps days ago. It's been aggravated, which has stimulated its growth."

"Aggravated?" Tessa repeated, dazed.

The good doctor nodded. "This is the trickiest part. We've been looking to see what could have pushed it to grow this much this fast and we think we finally know. Tessa, have you been using your mutations more than usual this past week?"

Tessa was speechless, her throat felt as if it were on fire, it was so dry. She couldn't find words.

The doctor continued. "Pressure from areas of mutated brain activity have sparked incredibly high levels on our charts." He explained. "I'm convinced that the pressure from these areas have stressed and taxed your mind so much that it became sensitive. Now, no one knows exactly where brain tumors come from, but in your case, I'd be willing to venture and say that continued use and stress of your mutations has caused it to grow so quickly, however it came into existence in the first place."

"C-Can you remove it?" Tessa finally voiced desperately. "Can you help me?"

The doctor looked down, breaking eye contact with her. "Its location is inoperable, situated as it is in the center and spreading outwards."

Tessa's breath started coming out in heavy pants. "But—what about someone like-like Energizer?! Surely she can help me!"

The doctor bit his lower lip and turned his head further away. "Energizer can cure bruises and cuts and other visible outward physical injuries, but she has never been able to help our cancer patients. I'm sorry, Tessa."

Tessa swallowed thickly, tears clouding her eyes that she didn't even bother to fight. "How long do I have?" She finally asked, physically trembling with all that she was being told.

"It's impossible to know for sure…" the doctor started uneasily. "…if the growth stops or slows, you could have as long as a two weeks left."

"And…if it continues to grow at this rate?" Tessa asked softly, her heart thudding heavily. _At best, I've got two weeks left to live._ Tears streamed down her face consistently.

"If the tumor continues to grow at this rate…I would give you three days, tops."

_Three days! _Tessa covered her face with her hands and wept. She felt a hand on her shoulder as the doctor laid his hand against her, but Tessa wanted no part of it. Completely forgetting or just neglecting what he said, she teleported out of the hospital and reappeared in her bed, where she truly started to sob, hugging herself securely and shivering against the invisible wind. _I'm never going to feel what it's like to be free from this place again. I'm going to die here, a slave to my own husband, alone._

_I don't want to die, I'm only 22. _Tessa squeezed herself tightly, very much afraid._ Derrick, I wish you were here with me. I miss you so much…_

Tessa stayed there in her bed, alone, for a very long time.

-----

"**Let me get this straight: Betsy Braddock is your psychic?"** John asked incredulously.

Zip nodded. "Elizabeth is one of them, yes."

"I hear she's one of our best." Circuit added.

John was laughing. Smirking and holding his stomach with heaving laughter.

"What's so funny?" Circuit demanded, eyebrows lowered in anger.

John mumbled something indistinguishable from his laughter. Zip glanced up to his partner, Tabitha. "What's he laughing about?"

Tabitha picked at her nails in disinterest. Stretched back in a chair with her feet propped up on the table, she shrugged. "Didn't Betsy work for Magneto first?" She asked dully.

Circuit nodded. "That's why she made a good candidate for us. She shares the same ideals."

John finally came up from his laughing spree. Still smiling widely, he shook his head at the two mutants in front of him. "Betsy _was_ working for Magneto—until he discovered her to be a double agent for the _X_-_Men_. You two have been duped!" John gave another hearty laugh. "One of your best is a double agent. How does that speak well for the rest of you?"

-----

**Elizabeth Braddock strolled through the mansion doors as if she owned the place.** Head held high, chin up and back straight, she might as well have been royalty. That was the façade, anyway. Inside she was quaking.

_Ororo's been caught. _

It was bound to happen sometime, but Betsy had hoped that Ororo would hold out just a little longer before getting herself caught. It was quite inconvenient, her getting captured at such a crucial time. Tessa was only about halfway done with training Rogue. Betsy had hoped to be further along by the time that Ororo got herself caught.

Elizabeth strolled through the lobby of the X-Mansion before Zip teleported next to her. "Where's Ororo?" Betsy asked importantly. "Shaw's sent me to take over her mind."

"Is that so?" Zip questioned her, grinning.

Betsy didn't like his tone. "Are you questioning me?"

Zip licked his lips. "I don't think 'questioning' is the right word for it. More like 'detaining'."

Betsy detected the hand reaching for her neck before it ever touched down. She spun on her heel and kicked the offending mutant in the stomach, making him stumble back. "What is the meaning of this?" Betsy demanded as Zip disappeared with a flash of light.

Only to reappear behind her and kick her in the back—right into the waiting hands of Circuit. Circuit smiled as Betsy stiffened in his grasp, growing paralyzed as her body locked into place.

Zip stepped forward and gloated above her. "There's no place for _traitors_ on this team." He announced snidely. Zip glanced up at Circuit. "Here, give her to me."

"What're you gunna do with her?" Circuit asked curiously, handing her over without hesitation.

"Well, we need a new psychic to take over Ororo now. As for her-" he shrugged. "I'll bring her back to the main base and let Shaw decide what to do with her." Betsy watched them speak with wide eyes, unable to move even a pinky to protect herself. _I've been discovered. No!_ Despite being paralyzed, Betsy didn't need her limbs to start shuffling through her own mind with her powers.

Circuit smiled. "Call me when he starts the torture. I want to watch." With that, Zip teleported away, leaving a helpless mansion in his wake.

-----

**Remy speculated the building from his perch on the nearby hillside. **Down below, there was a cracked up, falling apart old building that rested at the bottom of the hill. Crumbling stone made up its foundation and there were warning signs and blocks all over the exterior, warning any curious passerby away.

"What a nice place for headquarters." Logan remarked sarcastically. "They could really do with a decorator."

"You sure this is the place?" Kitty asked doubtfully, glancing between the crumpling stone and Remy.

Remy nodded. "Betsy said it would look like dis." He explained. "It's an illusion."

"An illusion, huh?" Logan snorted.

"Marie's in there?" Gracie asked hopefully.

"And Wanda and dad." Pietro added. "We're getting them all out."

"This place is sure to be more guarded than the last." Mystique commented. "Not to mention, I don't know anyone with enough status to impersonate who goes here."

Logan chewed on his cigar before spitting it out to the ground and stepping on the lit end. "There ain't gunna be no subtlety about this one." He warned them all. "It's gunna be a blow out."

"Gracie shouldn't come." Remy announced. "It's not gunna be pretty an' she don' have a power dat she can defend herself with."

"Ah'm coming!" Gracie protested loudly. "Marie's in there!"

"An' well get 'er out." Remy promised. "But not with y'."

"I have to agree with him." Pietro agreed. "It's gunna be a mess by the time we get out."

"Ah'm going!" Gracie shouted. "She's mah sister!"

"Technically, no she's not." Mystique added helpfully. "She's just the girl you grew up with."

"Yeah, _mother_?" Gracie sneered defensively. "No one asked fohr ya'r opinion!"

"Gracie calm down." Kitty laid a hand on Gracie's shoulder, pulling her back from Mystique. "Those guys in there, they won't hesitate to kill us. It's too dangerous for you."

Gracie opened her mouth to protest again, but Logan beat her to the punch. "If you don't agree to stay right here, half pint, then I'm going to knock you out and leave you on this hillside. You got me?"

"That's not fair!"

"Your choice, kiddo."

Kitty tried again gently. "Rogue wouldn't want anything to happen to you." She argued logically. "It would kill her if you got hurt while we tried to save her."

Gracie pouted and glared at them all. She crossed her arms in front of her chest and sat down stiffly. "Fahne! But ya better not all get caught, otherwise Ah'll have ta come save y'all and Ah won't do it gently!"

Logan smiled. "Cute kid."


	40. Reunion

_**Ah wonder where Tessa is? **_Rogue thought to herself quietly. She had just visited the hospital wing downstairs and the doctor said that Tessa had been dismissed some time ago. No matter how many times Rogue asked or pled, he wouldn't release any information to her, except for the fact that Tessa was up again. _That means she's fahne, raght? Jus' overstressin' herself a little. Ah mean, Ah understand why she feels the need ta push herself, but still. That's not healthy fohr a girl. Ah didn't even think about how so much use of her powers could be hurtin' her. An' she's been hidin' it all from meh, of course. 'Protecting' meh from unnecessary information._

Rogue snorted to herself as she walked down the halls, making her way to the cafeteria. She still wasn't hungry, a fact that disturbed her, but she knew she ought to eat something anyway. It wasn't healthy to go for days without eating. _Lihke Ah need all this protectin'—look at mah situation! It's silly, really._

Rogue reached the cafeteria and got in line. As the line moved forward, she grabbed a sandwich, apple, and a juicebox before turning and making her way to a deserted table in the back. Rogue wished Tessa was with her at the moment, she felt extremely self-conscious sitting by herself with these people. It wasn't that she much cared about their opinion of her, more that she felt like she was being watched and studied. Almost everyone in this place, the main base of Shaw's operations, they all knew about Shaw's dirtier deeds. Sitting in a room with them while trying to eat her lunch without noticing their stares was proving more difficult than she thought it'd be.

Rogue had swallowed half of her sandwich by the time she was deciding it was about time to stand up and leave. Before she could do that, however, someone pulled up beside her in her corner table and gestured towards the seat next to her. "Anyone sitting here?" He asked, despite the fact it was obvious that no one was.

The guy was a few years older than her. Twenty-five, Rogue would guess. He had a plain face, unmemorable, and dry, light brown hair. His golden eyes—and they were gold, literally—were trained on her questioningly, but his expression wasn't harsh or demanding or too inquisitive.

"By mah guest." Rogue nodded and he sat next to her, putting down his own tray and picking up a hotdog off of it.

He only hesitated a moment before speaking to her. "So you're Rogue, huh? You're the one they're all talking about?"

"They?" Rogue asked, taking another bite out of her sandwich. She would have much preferred to be away by now and wished she had stood early, but for courtesy's sake, she amended that she should at least finish her sandwich first.

"Everyone else." He gestured behind them where people quickly looked away as to not be caught staring. "You're the topic of almost every conversation since you came here, you know?"

"Ya'd think people would have better things ta talk about." Rogue remarked ironically.

Her companion chuckled and held out his hand. "I'm Chuck."

Rogue shook it deftly with her own gloved one. "Rogue, as ya must have heard."

Chuck smiled at her warmly. "It's very nice to meet you, Rogue."

"So what do you do around here?" Rogue asked curiously, wondering what secrets the seemingly-nice man beside her was hiding. Nobody was innocent in this building.

"I'm actually just a security guy." Chuck responded easily. "I set up the illusion that this place is just an old abandoned, falling down building." He nodded to her, then glanced at the window. Rogue looked too, it looked normal outside, at least. A grassy hill was all that she could see, that and the sky above. "To keep civilians away."

"That's a creative way ta hide what really goes on in here." Rogue speculated. "So ya do inside security too, then?"

"I'm a guard." Chuck confirmed. "Though, I just watch the cameras and heat detectors with some of my companions. I don't have a real good defense mutation to block out intruders if they come past my illusion, you know?"

"Makes sense." _Maybe Ah was wrong. Maybe there are some innocent people, even this far in hell's mouth._ Rogue suddenly frowned. "Ya said somethin' 'bout heat detectors?"

Chuck nodded, encouraged by her seemingly innocent interest in his job. "Oh yeah, this place has got it locked down with security. We've got heat sensors attached to every camera. They scan the room and track body heat of a person. You know, with an all-mutant location, you can never be too careful about taking precautions."

"Huh." Rogue mumbled, her mind racing. _Heat sensors?! If they've got those things, they know that someone's been in that locked room! It won't be hard from there ta connect that person as meh! Shit!_ Rogue stood. "Well, Ah'm jus' gunna—"

She was cut off as a yellow light emanated from Chuck and spread outwards. Above, red lights that were hidden in the ceiling somewhere started flashing and an electronic voice spoke: "Red alert, Red alert! All combat-oriented mutants move into position. Analysts, technicians, doctors, and all other non-combat mutants head to a room for lockdown. Lockdown will commence in thirty seconds."

"What's going on?" Rogue asked in alarm.

"Intruders." Chuck responded gravely. "Come with me."

Rogue shook her head as she quickly called up Charade's convincing abilities. Charade, the girl she had absorbed earlier today, had the ability to convince people of just about anything as long as they didn't have time to think about it first. "Who are the intruders? You have to tell meh." Rogue explained. "Ah'm here ta protect y'all—tell meh!" It wasn't that far of a stretch, considering the lie that Shaw told them all. The lie that Rogue would be their defensive.

Chuck looked slightly dazed. "They're mutants. They've just crossed my illusion and have entered the building."

"Where?" Rogue asked. "Ah need ta know where ta protect y'all right!"

"They've come in through sector five." Rogue gave him a blank stare. "It's in the back right hand part of the building, past all the living quarter rooms and close to the Training Arena."

From somewhere else in the room, a girl cried out loudly in panic. Chuck started to shake his head, frowning as he began to think about what Rogue was saying. "Sorry, Chuck." Rogue apologized, tearing away from him as he tried to lead her into an adjoining room from the cafeteria. "But Ah've gotta go." With that, Rogue stepped out of his grip and disappeared as she teleported away.

-----

**Rogue reappeared in the hallway outside the Practice Arena in just enough time to catch the tail end of a familiar trench coat disappearing around the corner.** _Remy!_ Rogue's heart started to pump rapidly. There was a crash from up ahead and, using Dash's speed ability, Rogue raced along the hallway and around the corner to catch up with Remy.

_Remy tol' y' he'd come t' save y'._ Remy in her head smirked cockily.

There he was: Remy, standing in all his beauty and glory in front of a huge hole in the wall where there had obviously been an explosion of some kind. There was an unconscious man in front of Remy and Rogue could hear distant shouts down the hall with her sensitive hearing, but for right now, Remy was alone in the hallway.

"Remy!" Rogue shouted in relief.

Remy barely had time to register his name and turn around in time before Rogue ran up to him and threw her arms around him, hugging him deeply as she held him against her. Remy blinked a couple times, but he wasn't stupid and he wasn't going to let the opportunity pass him by, either. He quickly loosened his own arms from Rogue's grasp and spread them around her too. Without any sort of warning, Rogue pulled her face off his shoulder and pressed her lips against his, kissing him deeply.

It was the first kiss she ever had without the absorption of energy or thoughts of the other person. She didn't have to worry about hurting him as she did so.

Remy was quick to take advantage of Rogue's enthusiasm and was soon passionately kissing her back, forgetting about everything around them but her. He didn't even realize anything around him, so taken he was in Rogue's passion. Rogue's hand trailed over his defined jawline, mentally cursing that her gloves were still on, but soon losing even that thought as Remy responded to her. He was all beauty and grace, gentle with her, but so passionate. Rogue was quickly getting lost in the moment.

When they finally broke away from each other, it was only to gasp for a breath of air. Breathless and smiling, Remy fixed her in his gaze as he stared down at her with those liquid pools of rubies. "Y' been workin' on dat fo' me?" Remy asked easily, smiling at her softly.

"Ah've missed ya." Rogue admitted, getting lost in his eyes, not even feeling a bit of ire at his witticism.

"I can see dat." Remy chuckled.

Rogue smiled too, but didn't say anything as she lifted her face back up to Remy's. Remy met her halfway and started another kiss. Slower, deeper, more passionate even than their one only seconds ago, Rogue was positively melting in Remy's arms.

"What the _fuck_?" A loud, familiar growl broke the moment around them. Rogue pulled back in surprise and alarm as her eyes widened at the sight of Logan charging down the hallway at them with his claws out. Instantly realizing his intentions, Rogue raced around Remy and threw herself at Logan. They both fell to the ground in a heap as Logan struggled to get back up to his feet and gut the bastard southerner.

"Don't hurt him, Logan!" Rogue ordered, holding Logan in a chokehold on the ground as Logan fiercely fought to break her steel grip. "_Ah _kissed _him_."

"Like hell you did!" Logan roared, elbowing her in the ribs to escape her grasp.

"Stop! Logan, that tickles!" Rogue chuckled, trying to contain her laughter. Her skin might be invulnerable now, but that didn't protect her from Logan's blows tickling her sides. "Cut—it. Out!" Rogue broke into another giggling fit as Logan continued to reign the blows against her.

Above them, Remy was smirking down at the picture of Logan being held back by a girl less than half his size, his daughter, to be exact. "Y' havin' troubles, _homme?_" Remy snickered.

Logan gave a particularly rough elbow that didn't hurt at all, but it set Rogue off and her grip on Logan dropped as her hands went to her sides and she moaned the laughter away.

Logan took fast advantage of her weakness and pounced at Remy. Remy's eyes widened as he stepped back. "Woops! Remy was jus' kiddin' _homme!_ Nice Kitty—Agh!" Logan landed on his chest and pulled his fist back, claws still out.

"No!" Rogue protested, still trying to get over how much her sides still tickled. She reached out a hand and pulled on Magento's magmatism to freeze Logan's fist in the air. Logan strained against the invisible force locking him in place, sweat pouring down his forehead as he tried to rake his claws down across Remy's face. "Ah lihke his face the way it is." Rogue confessed, getting to her feet. She stood up behind Logan and put a hand on his shoulder. "Ya not allowed ta kill him."

From under Logan, Remy began smirking again. "Hear dat, _homme?_ Y' not permitted t' touch m' handsome face, me." He looked over Logan's shoulder at Rogue and winked. "T'anks, _fille_."

Rogue grinned roguishly. "No problem, _sugah_. Now, Logan—"

"I'll kill you both!" Logan threatened. "How dare you touch her! I'll skin you and rip you limb from limb, you dirty Swamp Rat!"

"Remy didn' know y' wanted t' give him a cute lil' nickname. 'M sorry, _homme_, I only go fo' de ladies."

Rogue chuckled and pulled Logan's still-frozen frame away from Remy before curing her arms under around his stomach and finally letting him go from her magnetic hold. Logan collapsed on her, but his weight was nothing she couldn't carry and she held him up in her hug until he found his own footing and finally squeezed her back. "Rogue."

"Ah've missed you too, Logan."

Remy made a childish face at Logan from behind Rogue's back and whispered softly. "She said it t' me first." Almost just mouthing them, but knowing Logan would hear with his hearing. Rogue heard it too and shook her head as Logan's claws crept back out threateningly and he glared at Remy darkly.

There was a loud crash from behind them and Rogue could hear running footsteps. At the same time, the voices from the other end of the hallway were getting louder and Rogue recognized them. "Come on," she urged, taking Logan's wrist in her hand and motioning to Remy. Remy obediently followed and Rogue let go of Logan's wrist as soon as she was sure he was in front of her and not about to go kamikaze on Remy again.

The voices around the other hallway corner grew louder and clearer as Kitty, Pietro, and Mystique appeared around the bend. Kitty pulled up to a halt at the sight of her. "Rogue?!"

"Come here, y'all!" Rogue encouraged hastily, grabbing Kitty's wrist. "Everyone grab hold."

"What?" Pietro asked, blinking as Rogue took his wrist too.

"Just do it!" They did. Everyone linked together who all linked back to Rogue. Rogue watched in silent amusement as Remy tried taking Logan's hand and Logan in return punched him in the shoulder, hard. Remy moved away from Logan then and grabbed Pietro's other hand. As soon as they were all linked, Rogue teleported.

-----

**Rogue appeared back in her room again and dropped Pietro and Kitty's wrists as she identified another person in her room.** "Tessa!"

Tessa's eyes bulged at the others also in the room, but they quickly went back to Rogue. "These are the intruders?" She asked incredulously.

"They came ta break meh out—and Pietro, Wanda and Erik are here too."

"What?!" It was the simultaneous reaction from both Tessa and Pietro.

"Where?" Pietro demanded to know.

"Rogue, you can't—you're not—leaving, are you?" Tessa's breathing quickened as her heart raced. _No! No! No! NO! Not now!_

Rogue observed Tessa's paling and her obvious fright at Rogue's words. "Don't worry Tess, Ah'm not leavin'."

Logan froze and about faced from where he had otherwise been advancing on Remy. "What?!"

"Ah'm not leavin'." Rogue repeated. "Let meh explain—"

"Where are they?!" Pietro questioned again, obviously getting more desperate. Rogue glanced around her and listened to the loud noises outside her locked down room.

"Okay—we can't have this talk here." She nodded to all of them except Pietro. "Wait here." Grabbing Pietro's hand, she teleported away again.

Remy frowned at Tessa. "Who're y'?"

Tessa blinked at him. "You must be Remy. And…you all are Rogue's friends?"

"Dat's right." Remy nodded.

Logan turned his anger to Tessa. "What the _fuck_ is going on?!"

Thankfully, before Tessa had time to answer anything, Rogue appeared again with Pietro and an unconscious Erik and Wanda to boot. Rogue was carrying Erik as if he weighed no more than a feather and Pietro was cradling Wanda to his chest. Rogue glanced up at them all, excluding Tessa. "Everyone grab hold again." Glancing over to Tessa, she said. "Ah'll be back."

Tessa opened her mouth to protest, but Rogue silenced her. "Ah promise, okay? Ah'm not gunna leave ya here Tess. Ah'll be back."

"Wait!" Tessa stopped her, putting a hand on Rogue's clothed arm to stop her from teleporting away. _Your mansion has been attacked, Rogue. You can't leave to do anything, but…_ she gave a meaningful look at Rogue's companions.

Rogue nodded, understanding. "Thanks, Tess. Ah'll be back." And with that, Rogue made sure they were all linked and teleported away once more.

-----

**Shaw had been expecting this.** He had planned for this, knew that at any moment, it might happen. That didn't mean that he wasn't angry that it was happening, he had just expected, not wanted it. _That damn girl. You want to try to get past me? This is how you want to play it? Well fine._ Shaw shook his head in disgust. _You break my rules, I break yours. _Shaw triggered his trap that he had laid for just such an occasion. He wouldn't be there to see it, but ohh, how he knew it would happen. He smiled grimly to himself.

"Mr. Shaw?" A timid voice called out his name.

Shaw turned to the doctor who had worked on Erik and Wanda and put in the trap in the first place. "Yes, Ricksher? What is it?"

"The security staff has reported an anomaly."

"Of course they have!" Shaw roared in anger. "There was a break in only moments ago! Don't bore me with details I have no desire to know!"

"It's not about that, sir…" The doctor reported hesitantly.

"What is it, then?" Shaw demanded.

"It's just that…shortly after the break in, Rogue met up with one of the intruders and she touched him, sir."

"So?" Shaw shrugged. "How does that concern me?"

"Well…when she touched him, sir, her absorption didn't start up. He's perfectly fine, even after prolonged contact with her."

Shaw's eyes flared up. _Tessa! _

_-----  
_

**Rogue appeared far outside the building on the hilltop that she saw from the cafeteria window. **She broke away from the group as she laid Erik down in the grass lightly.

"Marie!" A familiar squeal was the first thing to break the stillness. Gracie threw herself at Rogue as Rogue turned and stood. Surprised, she still managed to catch Gracie as the younger girl wrapped herself around Rogue. "We saved ya!"

Rogue smiled warmly and squeezed Gracie back. "Hey, Gracie."

"Speaking of which," Logan finally spoke up, shaking off the effect of the teleportation. "You're not going back."

"I agree with de hairy man on dis." Remy announced. "We free y', _chere, _an' Shaw ain't got nobody else, so y' not bound no more."

Rogue finally pulled away from Gracie and set her back down on the grass. "You guys don' understand. Ah know ya came ta get meh outa here, but Ah have ta stay."

"Why's dat?" Remy asked.

Gracie's brow furrowed too. "Wait, what? Stay? We jus' rescued yah! See? Ah'm all free! And so are those people." She gestured to the grassy hill where Pietro was kneeling and trying to revive his sister and father. Rogue had told him they were drugged, but that hadn't dissuaded the anxious guy.

"You're not bound anymore." Kitty repeated gently. "It's over, Rogue."

Rogue was shaking her head. "No—you guys don't understand. Ah have ta stay here. Ah have ta bring down the Mutant Champions."

"No you don't." Logan spoke again, sounding a little angrier. "This isn't your fight, Rogue. Someone else can bring down these bullies, but it's not you."

"It _is_ meh." Rogue insisted. "Listen, ya know that girl in there, Tessa? She's been workin' with the Professor ta bring down the Mutant Champions fohr over a year now. Betsy an' her are workin' together with meh—an' it has ta be meh. Ah've been trainin' up so much in there an' absorbin' all the powers ta get enough strength ta finally tear the whole thing down. That was the plan all along."

"Rogue." Kitty said her name softly. "Professor Xavier's dead, you know that."

"He's not." Rogue persisted. "Look, Ah know it sounds crazy, but the Professor managed to transfer his essence into another body before he died. He's been workin' with Betsy an' Tessa this whole time—that's why Betsy left us, Kit. She went to Magneto to gather up the Mutant Champions in his suicidal launch for the Cure source. The professor knew that most all the mutants would get shot with the Cure in the process or get taken out."

"You're saying that Chuck orchestrated this?" Logan asked disbelievingly. "Mr. Good-of-the-Mutants-through-Peace set up a buncha mutants to get cured and perhaps die? Rogue, I don't know who told you this, but you've been fed a lie."

"For the record, you'd be surprised how devious Charles can be." Mystique put in. "Magneto had his doubts about Charles death too for awhile."

"It's not a lie!" Rogue protested Logan's claims. "An' Ah'm the only one with enough powers ta bring the Mutant Champions down. Ah don't need you guys ta understand this completely, but ya gotta accept it!" She took a deep breath. "Besides, Ah need your help with somethin'." Rogue hurried on before Logan could protest again. "The mansion's been taken over bah these guys. Y'all need ta liberate it."

"What?" Kitty asked in alarm. "How do you know this?"

Rogue shook her head. "Ah jus' do, okay? Y'all need ta help them. Ah'm gunna be okay bah myself." Rogue turned to Logan. "You, especially, gotta go help the mansion. If it's taken over, that likely means Storm's been overcome. Ya the last adult X-Man at the mansion."

"I'm _not_ leaving you here." Logan shouted, grabbing her shirt roughly. "You're coming home with us, Rogue."

"What's happening?!" Pietro's panicked shout suddenly rose above all their voices. He was looking at Wanda and Erik in horror. Rogue turned her head and her eyes widened at the sight.

Wanda and Erik's veins were both brightly evident against their skin, which had paled considerably since their incarceration. What was even more alarming, though, was the fact that both were coughing as their bodies shook and trembled on the ground. Both seemed awake, but they were completely unaware of anyone around them as they spasmed on the grassy hill. "What is this?!" Pietro cried out again. "Wanda? Dad?" He shook both of them by the shoulder, trying to rouse them out of their states. "Help me!" He finally cried when neither condition changed.

Rogue stepped out of Logan's grip and knelt by Wanda. "Let me see." She said, even though Pietro wasn't really shoving her out of the way or anything. Rogue closed her eyes and held a hand over Wanda's convulsing body as she called up Energizer's healing abilities. She spent a few minutes searching for the problem as her mind scanned over Wanda's body and condition before she realized what was wrong.

"They've been poisoned!" She revealed in alarm.

"Can you help them?" Pietro asked desperately, not questioning how Rogue knew this or these extra powers she was displaying.

"Ah have ta wash it outa their systems. Ah can't jus' heal it alone." Rogue scooted closer to Wanda as she called up Ziggy's water-manipulating abilities. Using the water in their own bodies, Rogue called up the source of the poison-infected areas and began to wash the poison back out, directing it towards Wanda's throat.

"Hurry!" Pietro called out desperately, watching them both writhe.

Rogue sped her efforts with Wanda as fast as she could without being callous or clumsy. She rushed the poison up by pushing it out with the water. She brought the combination of water and poison up through Wanda's throat as she started choking. Half a second later, Wanda coughed violently as she spat and threw up the poison into the grass.

Not waiting for Wanda to throw up everything, Rogue rushed over to Erik's side. She began the same process again before Rogue lost track of the poison before she even started manipulating the moisture in his body. Before Rogue's shocked eyes, Erik abruptly stopped thrashing as his body stilled. "No!" Rogue's heart raced. "No!"

Pietro looked up from where he was holding Wanda up, preventing her from falling into her own vomit. "No? Why isn't he moving?!" Pietro's throat closed up as his voice grew hoarse. "Why isn't he moving?! Rogue? Rogue?!"

Rogue's heart felt as heavy as stone.


	41. Loved Ones Lost

"**Tessa!"** Tessa whirled on her heel at the sound of her name and nearly jumped out of her skin again at the sight of Shaw. Shaw rushed up to her. "I've been looking all over for you! Are you okay?" He asked caringly. "You didn't get caught up in the invasion, did you?"

Tessa shook her head, her heart still pounding rapidly. "I'm okay." _Just dying. _"You weren't in our room and I thought-I thought they might be looking for Rogue, so I teleported here…"

Shaw nodded understandingly. "Yes, we're all looking for Rogue currently." He held out his arms. "Come here, darling. I've been so worried."

Shakily, Tessa walked forward into his arms and Shaw wrapped them around her securely. "I'm glad you're okay." Shaw said, squeezing her gently. Shaw rested his head against her right shoulder. His grip on her started tightening.

"Sebastian." Tessa tried to move back away from him, but Shaw kept her close. "Sebastian!" Tessa repeated again, trying to pull away forcefully now. "You're hurting me!"

Tessa suddenly felt a sharp prick as a thin needle slid into the side of her neck. Tessa gasped and braced her hands against Shaw's chest, physically fighting to get away from him. Shaw brought her tighter up against him and brought his head down close to her ear as he kept her close. "How's it feel, _lover?_ How's it feel to be stabbed in the back?" Shaw let go of her then and Tessa's momentum from shoving against him took her backwards where she crashed into the dresser, knocking the lamp to the ground as her hands flew to her neck.

Shaw's jaw tightened as he watched Tessa stumble back. Her eyes were already starting to cloud over, he knew, and she'd be out any second now. Watching her with cold, unfeeling eyes, Shaw stepped towards her again and glared into her glazed eyes. Her shook his head as suddenly, a cruel smile graced his features. "You're not dying of a tumor, Tessa, but by the time I'm done with you, you're gunna wish you were."

Tessa faded from the world and hit the ground limply. Shaw's eyes narrowed on the woman he had married and loved as his wife for this past year. "This is the last time you'll see the soft side of me, Tess. I can't wait to bring you into my hell."

-----

**Rogue was frozen in place.** She couldn't believe this was happening; she was in shock. _It's not right._ Wanda had fallen unconscious again and laid in the grass next to Erik, moved away from the poison she had spat up moments ago. Pietro was sprawled over his dead father, hugging his lifeless body to his chest as he wept, showing no signs of knowing that anybody else was around him.

Remy had helped Rogue to her feet and now she was leaning against his secure chest, breathing quick and shallow breaths. Logan was obviously displeased with their positions, as he kept twitching his hand towards her before pulling back, but he wasn't willing to speak up at such a dire moment. None of them were.

Other than Pietro's sobs, the air around them was tight with tension and unease. Even Gracie had quieted and remained ducked down by Kitty. No one knew what to say.

Finally, after what seemed like hours of stretched silence that was perhaps only ten minutes or so, Logan mumbled the first words. "We should bury him." He said softly. Even though he had spent the last few years fighting the power-hungry mutant and he didn't like him much, Logan wasn't heartless enough just to leave him there with the speedy-kid.

Gently, more gently than Rogue had ever imagined possibly for a man like Logan, Logan stepped forward and kneeled down on the other side of Erik. He probed the kid cautiously, slowly reaching out his hands and touching Erik's dead body. "Kid…" he mumbled as Pietro let out a short gasp and pulled Erik closer to him, away from Logan's hands. Logan strained to remember the boy's name. "Pietro…" it finally came to him.

Pietro tore his gaze away from his dead father long enough to lock eyes with Logan. Logan held out his arms again, hesitant but pushy nonetheless. They really didn't have that much time to spend on the hillside before the others came after them.

"Let's dig the grave." Rogue whispered to Remy softly. Remy didn't say anything, but gently led her by the shoulders down the other side of the hill. Rogue had suggested the chore to give her something to do just as much as she needed to leave the scene, leave the body. _He's dead. _Rogue swallowed thickly. _He's dead because Ah couldn't save him._

As if sensing her thoughts and mood, Remy pulled Rogue closer to him and wrapped an arm around her stomach as he stroked a hand through her hair. "It gunna be okay, Rogue."

_A pleasant lie._

They came across an even, clear spot in the grass that was lined right up next to a bunch of trees that disappeared off into the distance, sort of like a miniature forest. Rogue and Remy stopped here. Remy looked around speculatively. "I suppose I could blow a hole." He offered. "T'ough it won't look de prettiest."

"Ah've got it." Rogue interjected softly. "Step back, Remy." Rogue morphed into Cantor's form then, the Human-Half-Horse and shoved her back two hoofs into the ground. While taking away the water and making the soil extremely dry and brittle, Rogue burned off the top layer of grass before she started kicking away at top speed using Dash's superspeed ability to quicken the process. Combined with the already fragile soil, the job didn't take long before she had formed a neat seven-by four foot hole for Erik to lay in.

Morphing back to her original form, Rogue flew up out the hole and dusted herself off. Remy was staring at her incredulously. "What?" Rogue asked, then again, somewhat more defensively when he didn't respond the first time. "What?"

Remy worked his jaw before he was grinning and shaking his head at her. "Roguey, y' know I t'ink y' beautiful, but if y' ever wanna kiss me again, don' turn int' dat horse-t'ing ever again."

Rogue pouted, then responded back sassily. "An' what makes ya think Ah ever _do_ wanna kiss ya again, Remy LeBeau?"

"Y' kiddin'? Do y' remember how y' greeted dis handsome Cajun?"

"It shoulda been with a smack in the face." Rogue retorted, smiling herself.

"Y' probably send me straight t'rough de wall by doin' dat." Remy paused. "Speakin' o' which, y' got a lotta new abilities, Roguey…"

"It's been part of mah training." Rogue explained. Before they could continue the conversation further, Pietro appeared to start coming down the hill, carrying his dead father in his arms. Logan had conceded to pick up the unconscious Wanda while Gracie walked timidly behind a quiet Kitty. Mystique followed her husband down the hill, whispering to him softly.

They were all quiet by the time they reached the bottom of the hill and Pietro stepped towards the grave without asking how it got there or anything. It was deathly silent as he lowered Erik into the grave, reaching as far down as he could. Rogue stepped to the other side and helped by using her silly-puddy stretchy-skin ability to lower him the rest so that Pietro wouldn't have to drop him. They stood like that for a moment afterwards before Pietro turned his head down and away and silently beckoned for Logan to give Wanda to him. As soon as Logan had done so, he raced away with Wanda in his arms, far out in the distance before he disappeared as a speck on the horizon.

All of them helped to bury Erik before anyone spoke again. Rogue was the first one to voice her thoughts. "Ya'll need ta get ta the mansion."

"We're not leaving you here." Logan was insistent.

Rogue shook her head. "It's not your choice Logan, it's mine. You know that ya have ta help at the mansion an' it's your responsibility ta go back there an' free Storm an' all the kids there. This is not up fohr debate—it's what ya'll be doin'." Rogue turned to Kitty. "Ah want ya to make sure he does this Kitty." Rogue turned back to the group as a whole. "Followin' me won't do any good. Ah'll kick ya butts out mahself if Ah have to, otherwise your jus' gunna be a distraction ta me."

Rogue turned to Logan again, in earnest. "You cahn best help me by makin' sure the mansion is okay. Ah know ya want to follow me, but Ah'm a big girl now Logan, ya can't shelter me anymore. Ah've made mah choice, now it's time you make yours. Will ya help me?"

Logan was still looking stubborn. "Rogue-"

"Logan, no." Rogue shook her head. "Mah choice is made. Now, will you help me or not?"

_Why do they all have to grow up?_ Logan shut his eyes for a moment. "Fine." Rogue breathed a deep sigh of relief. She had thought he may not agree, even after all that. "But as soon as the mansion's free, I'm coming back for you."

"Hopefully Ah'll be done bah then." Rogue remarked wryly.

Remy frowned. "Remy ain't got no ties t' dis mansion. I stay with Rogue."

"Oh no you don't, bub." Logan growled lowly.

Rogue shot him a dark look before turning to Remy. "Ya have to, Remy. Ah can't let ya come back with me. Ah can't let anyone come back with me."

"Why do you have to go back, Rogue?" Kitty asked earnestly.

"Stay with us." Gracie pled.

"What dey said." Remy crossed his arms stubbornly. "Dis isn't y' fight."

Rogue shook her head. "No, but it's become mine. Remy, please, stay with Logan."

Remy retained his stubborn stance.

"Please." Rogue beg of him. "Ah'll come back, Remy. Ah promise."

Rogue still saw a resilient fleck in those liquid ruby eyes, but Remy lifted his chin reluctantly in defeat. Rogue threw her arms around him—ignoring Logan's growl as she did so—and hugged him tightly. "Ah'll come back." She promised again. Remy conceded and returned her hug, not about to let the girl go without bidding her a proper goodbye, at least.

"I be here when y' done." Remy gave her his own word, despite Logan's snort and his flexing wrist.

Next, Gracie jumped up on Rogue again and Rogue embraced her tightly. "Ah don' want yah ta go." Gracie persisted stubbornly where everyone else had failed.

"Ah know." Rogue said softly. "But Ah have to. You'll see me again, Gracie."

"Ah better." Rogue felt a wet drop cascade onto her shoulder. Rogue gave her sister one last reassuring squeeze before letting her down.

To her surprise, Kitty walked up to her next and gave her a quick hug. "Be safe, Rogue." Rogue nodded and Kitty pulled away hastily, drawing back.

Rogue grinned at Mystique who was at Logan's side and slightly behind her. "Come 'ere, momma." She plucked Mystique up in an awkward hug that Mystique didn't quite know how to handle and tenderly gave Rogue a quick squeeze back.

"Come back now." Rogue nodded before they let go and she turned to the last person there.

"Logan…"

Logan shifted uncomfortably. "Rogue." Rogue smiled sadly and stepped up to him, letting him encompass her with his strong, buff arms. Logan's hug was different from everybody elses; safe, secure, unquestioning, it spoke of a deep trust and love that had grown between the two from when she had first met him all the way to the present day. "I'm gunna miss you." Logan's voice was unnaturally thick.

"Me too." Rogue confessed. "But Ah won't be gone fohr long."

Logan squeezed her as tightly as he could. What might have otherwise been a painful hug, Rogue simply felt it for its reassurance. "I love you, kid."

Rogue felt her eyes grow watery at his words. "Ah love you too, Logan." She sniffed once and when they pulled back, she rubbed at her eyes. "Ah'll be seein' ya'll." With one last glance at everybody, Rogue disappeared, leaving only a little puff of gray smoke in her wake.

They were silent for a moment as the situation descended upon all of them. Logan was the first to shake free of it. He brought his gaze down upon Remy. "Now, Cajun, now I'm gunna kill ya."

Remy squeaked as he dodged out of the way of Logan's lunge.

-----

**Rogue reappeared once again back in her bedroom, but as she glanced around, it was obvious that the room wasn't as she had left it.** "Tessa?" Rogue called out, eyes locked on the spilled over lamp from the dresser. Rogue carefully set the lamp back on the dresser and was alarmed when she found a spot of blood on the wooden nightstand. "Tessa?" Her voice more desperate now, Rogue raced out of the room and used Dash's speed to zip down the left hallway. After searching the immediate surrounding area, Rogue turned around and flashed down the right hallway, still searching.

She found her target this way. Shaw was carrying a limp Tessa in his arms down the hallway. "Tess!" Rogue shouted in alarm, speeding over to Tessa and pushing Shaw away. Shaw went flying back, but the blow didn't hurt him at all. Rather, he just absorbed her strength.

Rogue shook Tess lightly in her arms, trying to jostle her awake. "Come on, Tess." Tessa didn't stir. Rogue glanced up at Shaw and glared at him darkly. "What the hell did you do to her?"

Shaw dusted himself off as he stood up and his eyes narrowed at Rogue. "So the prodigal daughter is back. How fitting." Rogue made to move, but Shaw held up a finger. "If you leave, I'll flush poison through her system—faster than you'll be able to fix it."

Rogue froze. "You're bluffing."

Shaw smiled wickedly. "Are you really willing to bet her life on that assumption?" He turned up his chin to her. "Now, let go of Tessa."

Rogue didn't move. "Ah'm not gunna let you kill her."

"Kill her?" Shaw shook his head. "I most certainly wouldn't kill the woman who holds my child! Not yet, at least."

Rogue's jaw dropped and she stayed rigedly in position, disbelief clearly written across her face. _Tess is pregnant? No! It's not-she's not—he's bluffin' again._

Shaw watched her expression in quiet amusement. "Surprised? Tessa herself doesn't even know yet. You remember taking Tessa to the medical wing, don't you?" Rogue's blood ran cold. "The headaches, the sleeping in, the morning sickness, the sheer exhaustion she faces from simply using her powers?" Shaw smiled cruelly. "I'm surprised I didn't notice the signs myself. I admit, it was quite a shock when I was first told. It should have been a joyous event…but then my fears of Tessa's duplicity were confirmed."

Shaw's gaze fell on Tessa coldly. "And I learned of her deception. The lie she's been living, secretely working against me to bring me down." Shaw lifted his gaze back up to Rogue. "Was it all just a sham? She never loved me when she married me…" Shaw's eyes seemed to glint then. "Then it occurred to me: the woman I've been married to for the past year, the woman who's deceived me and married me to try to take me down, the woman I've loved? She is pregnant with my child! I can think of no greater revenge, can you?"

Tessa suddenly grew heavy in Rogue's arms and Rogue strained to keep her lifted in her grasp. Shaw smiled cruelly. "Ahh yes, it feels like the stabilizer has just been turned on. Can you feel it, Rogue? The weakness that fills you with your lack of power?"

_Ah need ta get Tess outa here._ Rogue shut her eyes and tried to teleport. She felt nothing. No familiar flow of warmth fleshing through her nor any power rising from her heavy limbs. She opened her eyes and saw that she was in exactly the same spot. Panic ran through her.

Shaw was floating on his gloats, he was so high above her. He licked his lips freakishly. "How's it feel to be mortal again, Rogue?"

Truly hyperventilating now, Rogue began dragging Tessa away down the opposite hallway with her. The chore was strenuous and it took a great effort for her to drag Tessa along with her. Shaw laughed harshly and the sound echoed through the halls. "Your reign is over now, Rogue." He stepped forward to attack. Rogue quickly laid down Tessa to defend herself when a painful prick caught her unexpectedly in the side of her neck.

Rogue hurriedly grabbed the dart and pulled it out, turning around wildly to see her attacker. A man stood there smiling lightly as she clutched at her neck, feeling dizzy and disoriented. From her back, Shaw spoke again. "Your services, Rogue, are no longer needed." Rogue's head swam as her vision darkened. She didn't register the footsteps behind her as the world spun and blurred before her eyes before darkening entirely. Rogue fell limply to the ground as Shaw picked up Tessa's limp body again. He nodded to the other guy down the hall who had shot Rogue with the dart. "Take her and follow me." His gaze fell back down upon Tessa. Shaw shook his head softly, staring down at her. "It's such a waste…you were so beautiful, Tess. I really did love you, you know? Such a useless, unnecessary waste…" Shaw combed his fingers through Tessa's hair gently. "It's such a tragedy that we had to end. I will miss you, lover." He smiled sadly, bending low over her and brushing his mouth against her hair. "I'm sorry."


	42. Enemies

"**So I'm thinkin' they probably should have been here by now."** Longshot commented wryly, watching his girlfriend study her nails. "It's been forty minutes now."

"So they got caught, you're saying?" She didn't even look up. "What now, then?"

"I suppose we ought to free them too, don'tcha think?" Longshot suggested.

"How do you expect to do that?" Petra asked cynically. "We're in a mansion that's probably stuffed full of mutants who have taken out the rest of the team while we have no idea where to go because we've never even been in here before."

"Do you _always_ have to see the cup half-empty?" Longshot joked.

"How would you view it?" Petra shot back. "It's not like we can actually _do_ anything."

"Sure we can."

"Like what?" Petra retorted stubbornly. "Perhaps we can get you hit with a crowbar too, hmm? Though I'm sure your luck will just deflect the blow to me again, so what the heck? Let's go for it!"

"Aww, Petra, come on, don't be like that. I didn't want you to get hit, that was an accident!"

"Hmmph!" Petra crossed her arms over her chest. "What do you suggest we do then, Sherlock?"

"Why not go upstairs and see if we can find the prisoners, as we originally planned. If we can get them out, we'll probably be able to break the captor's grip on the mansion and all will be solved."

"Why do you even care so much?" Petra asked curiously. "You _know_ I could just make us rich without these little gigs."

Longshot shrugged. "Sometimes it's fun to play the hero, Petra. Life's about _living_; it's no fun to instantly get everything just like that."

"Make a bet?"

Longshot grinned. "Come on, Petra. Follow me." Together again, the two set off.

-----

**Betsy was being tortured and it was killing her.** It wasn't the physical beatings that would do her in or break her. Although those had hurt, yes, Betsy was used to physical pain and could endure limitless amounts, she was sure. No, what was killing her was the little metal collar that hung around her neck limply and stole away her powers from her.

_My powers. My abilities—myself. They've taken it all away from me._ Betsy felt empty and cold, unprotected without her telepathic abilities. The cold cell around her was a dark and dank place. She had an unconscious Tessa for company, but she couldn't delve into the other woman's mind and prod her awake or feel the comforting presence of another mind near hers. It was simply gone. She felt no one.

_I never knew how lonely it could be without my telepathy. _She didn't have any other mental indication of anyone around her. She felt bare; naked and ashamed, like a frightful child who had lost their parents. She was alone.

Betsy had tried to remove the collar. It was the first thing she did upon waking up in captivity, even before she had tried to wake Tessa. There was no latch on the collar and, by the weight and strength of it, Betsy suspected it was adamantium. Shaw must have a magnetic-master on his hands to have done this.

Only when she had checked everything and tried everything to break the collar did Betsy go to Tessa's side. She shook the younger woman's shoulder gently and called out to her, but Tessa remained unconscious. Betsy observed the small needle prick in the side of the woman's neck and deduced that they must have drugged her. So she had given up and returned to the hard, dirty mattress that was their excuse for a bed.

That's when the whispering started. Betsy didn't understand it at first, it was incoherent whispers on the draft in her cell, but they had recently started to form words. And it was from a voice that Betsy knew all too well. A voice that terrified her.

_That's right. I'm back._ The voice taunted her. Betsy dropped her head into her hands and tried to shake it off.

_I'm imagining it! I don't have my powers, I know and don't—I would feel them otherwise. And Shaw killed him! He's not there, not there._

_You'd like to believe that, wouldn't you?_ The sinister tone chuckled at her distress. _But I'm here, Elizabeth, and I won't leave you alone._

_No, no, no, no!_ Betsy thought desperately, starting to hyperventilate as her breathing grew labored. _You're dead!_

_Shaw did kill my body, it's true._ The voice cackled. _But not before I slithered into you. You remember how that goes, don't you?_ As if to prove his point, Betsy suddenly found herself lifting her head not of her own volition. She knew her eyes would be black now if she could see them and she watched in horror with a watery gaze as her hand lifted in front of her face and she flicked herself off. Shortly following, she slapped herself across the face as the voice cackled in her mind. _I'm inside of you, Elizabeth._

_No!_ Tears spilled down from Betsy's eyes. _This can't be real. I'm dreaming. I'm dreaming!_

Her antagonizer smiled cruelly. _I knew you were a traitor to Shaw's cause. That's why he killed me, did you know? He killed me 'cause I accused you of doublecrossing._

_How are you here?_ Betsy cried out desperately. _You're dead!_

_I told you, I mingled inside of you before Shaw killed me. You know the ironic part? I found that I couldn't get across to you! No, your telepathic shields blocked me out so I sat dormant, waiting until you were discovered before I could come out again. I no longer have a body of my own anymore you know, but now that I've been revealed to have been right and your telepathic abilities have been diminished, I can take reign._

"Ahh, you're awake." Betsy's head shot up at the sound of the new, familiar voice. Her onyx eyes locked on Shaw. Shaw stepped back and blinked in surprise. "What happened to you?"

_Just who I've been waiting for. _"Shaw." Her voice was deeper and obviously not her own.

Shaw blanched. "Shade?"

"Yes, it's me. Me who you _killed_ for accusing this traitor."

"That's quite ironic, don't you think?" Shaw mouth quirked. "And now you find yourself in the body of your killed girlfriend, sharing it with the one you hate the most. Most interesting…"

"I have no body of my own anymore." Shade explained. "I _demand_ that you give me a body for stealing mine."

Shaw scratched his chin in wonder. "I actually think this can work." He lifted an eyebrow and smiled lightly. "Shade, you believe in my ideals, that mutants should be the dominant species on this planet." He mused to himself. "You're ruthless and I know you could rule well…"

"What are you thinking?" Shade asked anxiously.

Shaw smiled softly. "How would you like to become me?"

-----

**Shaw smiled as he ran a finger through Rogue's two-toned hair.** She really was quite exquisite, this one, and she'd be the one to bring about humanity's enslavement to mutants. It was irony in and of itself; the goal that Shaw had forever been working towards would be accomplished with _this_ mutant, this young _girl_. Shaw glanced up at his associate. "I want you to transfer everything of me into this girl. I don't want to be a separate entity in her mind, rather I'd like you to copy _everything_ of me, all my ideals, goals, memories and emotions, _everything_ directly into her. I don't want her to ever have a chance of separating her mind from mine—you are to mesh us so completely that she believes everything that I do."

Shaw continued, expressing his wishes specifically. "I don't want you to make me into this girl, but rather take up the girl and possess her with everything that I have: she is to truly believe herself that this is _her_ cause and what she has been working for, what she ultimately wants. All of my desires and dreams are to be hers. Specifically, there will be no 'Shaw psyche', I want Rogue to be Rogue, but slave to my passions and ambitions, subservient to me-like a partner, almost. Her purpose for living will be mine: to carry out the noble aspirations and fulfill _my_ objective."

The psychic across from him nodded accordingly. "You want her to be a clone of your ambition, to fully succeed in her with all her powers in bringing down humanity to their knees."

"Can you do that?" Shaw asked patiently.

"It's only possible if her mind is in chaos. You've made sure that it's unstable and her psyche imprints are at odds with each other, correct? She must have so much other confusion and confrontation that distracts from her mind in order for this to work. Has she absorbed enough significant others to cause this mental chaos?" Shaw nodded. The psychic tossed her long, perfect blond hair. "Then I can do anything. I am The White Queen_._"

Shaw smiled in satisfaction. "Good."

"She will resist." The beautiful woman warned. "When I start mixing you both, she will fight it, even unconscious. It will not feel natural or right to her while I entwine your essences and she will reject it. Do you have someone here who can temporarily stop her abilities?"

Shaw nodded to her before calling from the other room. "Disable! Come here—and bring Callisto with you."

It took half a moment, but Disable and Callisto was quick to enter the room after his summons. "Shaw?" She asked obediently.

"Catch me when I pass out." Shaw directed. "But do not let me break contact with her until Emma tells you to." He looked over to Disable. "We are expecting backlash as Ms. Frost begins. Once I have finished touching her and Emma starts the process, you are to disable her abilities until Emma is done. Under no circumstance should you let up on her, understand?"

Disable quickly agreed, ever loyal to Shaw's cause.

"You're aware that your body will be a shell after this?" Emma asked him. "It will take all of your essence to mix and build overtop of her own. You will no longer exist in your body."

"I'm aware of the consequences." Shaw waved her away. "Callisto will carry me to the cells after this where I have plans of my own."

Emma nodded again to him. "Touch her now so that your essences mix. I will finish the rest myself."

Callisto stepped forward as Shaw moved his hand down and touched the side of Rogue's cheek, cupping it in his palm. He waited.

Emma gave an amused half-smile as nothing happened.

"Her touch power is off!" Shaw realized angrily. "I'll kill Tessa! I swear it!"

Emma let him rant for a few seconds before speaking up. "I can trigger her to turn her mutation on."

"While she's unconscious?" Shaw asked. "I won't risk waking her up." Emma nodded, still amused. "Then do it already!"

Emma shut her eyes then and lifted her hands above Rogue's body as she began. Shaw stiffened after just a moment as Rogue's inherent powers started to drain him. Callisto was already at his side and holding him.

It didn't take much longer before Shaw passed out from the mere pain of Rogue's touch. Emma didn't say anything as he fell limp, but made sure that Callisto kept his hand against Rogue's face. Emma was silent for a long time.

Finally, after what seemed like a long, stretched time in which Shaw got whiter and his veins more pronounced than ever; Emma held up a hand and spoke quickly. "Pull away."

Callisto hastily pulled Shaw away and laid a hand against his neck to make sure that he still had a pulse. After assuring herself that he was still breathing, she lifted Shaw into her arms and carried him out of the room. Emma lifted an eyebrow at Disable. "Ready?"

Disable nodded. "You are free to start."

Emma shut her eyes again and went to work. Beneath her outstretched fingers, Rogue writhed.

------

**Callisto carried Shaw's unconscious body without much strain as she made her way down to the holding cells in the second basement. **She wound her way through the winding hallways and turned her gaze down to Shaw. His eyes were closed and he looked peaceful. Callisto hadn't ever him so serene before. _It's somewhat disturbing._

Callisto entered the prison room and arched a suspicious eyebrow as she saw the one called Elizabeth run herself into a wall and collapse backwards. _Interesting._ Callisto said nothing as she laid Shaw's body down gently on the ground. "Shade?"

The man—or woman, rather—in question looked up suddenly from her position of crawling on the floor. "Callisto, how pleasant." He slithered forward by pushing with his knees and arms.

Callisto looked unamused. "You can torture and bask in Elizabeth's pain all you like later, Shade. Shaw's body is ready for you now."

Betsy's black eyes suddenly rolled back until only the whites were revealed and she grabbed at her throat as she started choking. A vile, black slithering shadow poured from Betsy's mouth. She gagged as the slithering mutant left her body and fell back when it had gone, breathing raggedly with wide, fearful eyes. Shade slithered across the floor and entered Shaw's empty body through his mouth. Callisto frowned at the process as Shaw's eyes shot open, revealing black orbs.

"Let's go." Callisto helped the new Shade-inhabited Shaw to his feet and started walking back out. Shade's black gaze glinted as he grinned widely at Betsy, who was still laying on the floor, breathless.

"Don't worry Elizabeth, I'll be back." Betsy whimpered on the ground.

-----

**It took Tessa awhile to come to.** Even after she had felt the merciful clutch of unconsciousness slipping away, Tessa was still disoriented. Her head was throbbing painfully and she felt the migraine coming on quickly. Not to mention, she was down on some kind of hard, tough surface that wasn't doing wonders for her joints. Tessa felt incredibly ache-y, as if she were twenty years older. There was something else too, something missing…

As Tessa became more aware of her surroundings, she also became aware of the absence of energy she was feeling. It was as if someone had zapped her dry and she couldn't reach out to touch that very energy that made her special. Tessa began stretching her aching limbs. Her back cracked noisily as she did so and it was then that Tessa realized why everything felt so wrong. _I can't hear anything. I can't sense anything. Where am I?_

Quickly righting herself, Tessa felt the cold metal band of a collar pressing against her skin. She glanced around herself at the cell she was in with a sinking feeling. That feeling was confirmed when her eyes landed on Betsy, who was shivering with a very thin blanket on the floor, her back to the wall as she watched Tessa. "It's your powers." Betsy finally spoke. "They're gone." She lightly touched her own metal collar. "Compliments of Shaw."

Tessa froze in horror. Slowly, she reached up a hand to her neck and felt the smooth material under her fingers. She rapidly traced the metal to see if she could find some kind of latch, but that came out negative. _Of course. Shaw had Polaris make these._

Tessa glanced back up to Betsy with growing fear. "We've both been discovered?"

"It would appear so." Betsy sighed deeply. "This isn't good for Rogue, either."

"The X-Men are involved now, aren't they?" Tessa asked desperately, needing to lean on _some_ good news for her dwindling hope. "They can come for us. And Rogue—she's not exactly gunna be an easy girl to overcome, right?"

Betsy just looked depressed. "The X-Mansion has been taken over, you know that Tess. Those who are free are simply going to liberate it, not us. The X-Men don't trust me and they don't even know about you. And Rogue has already been captured. No one knows we're here, let alone are they going to try to save us."

Tessa looked alarmed. "Rogue's been captured?!" _She __**did**__ come back for me. _"How do you know that?" Tessa asked anxiously, fearful. "How do you know that she's been captured?!"

Betsy swallowed thickly. "Callisto brought down Shaw's vacated body for Shade to inhabit."

"Shade? Shade's dead!"

Betsy shook her head. "No. He slipped a part of himself into me. When Shaw killed his body, that part of him stayed alive."

Tessa's eyes widened. "Oh-oh God! Betsy, I'm sorry!"

Betsy turned away, obviously affected by Shade's survival. "That means they've already operated on Rogue." She changed the subject sullenly. "We've failed, Tess."

_No! This is—it's been my life! I've tried to escape this for a year now and-and we failed? No! I won't accept it! I didn't—I couldn't have thrown it all away for nothing! _"It's not too late!" Tessa protested.

Betsy sympathized with her. She knew of all that Tessa had sacrificed when she joined the Mutant Champions and became Shaw's wife. "Tess—" she treaded gently, but Tessa would have none of it.

"No! There's still a shot! We just have to get Rogue back to herself."

Betsy gave a pointed look around their cell. "Tess—"

Tessa cut her off again, tearing at the eyes. "No! We can do it Betsy! We've just gotta get out of here!" Tessa stood and went to the bars. She gripped it tightly and tried to futilely pull it out. She yanked and pulled, but the bar didn't move. Tessa pounded her fists against the bars. "No!" She tugged on them again to no avail. "We can get out!"

Betsy stood and went up behind Tessa. Tessa continued pounding against the bars with her fists. Betsy firmly took her hands to stop the younger girl as Tessa tried to fight her off, writhing in Betsy's grip. "No!" She shouted. "Let me go!"

"Shhh." Betsy quieted her, keeping a firm grip on Tessa and holding her hands in place. Despite her loathing of pity, Betsy was broken up inside by watching Tessa lash out. "Shhh." Betsy calmed her. Tessa gave one last particularly rough shove as she tried to escape before she collapsed into Betsy's arms, weeping. Betsy slowly knelt down with the sobbing girl until they had reached the floor and Tessa was crying in her lap. Betsy's jaw tightened at the sight of her partner, the girl who had given up everything and whose purpose was crumbling before her eyes.

"No." Tessa sobbed, mumbling through her heart-wrenching tears. "We can—it's not too late—please, Betsy! Don't quit…No…please…" It tore her up. Betsy hated letting pain get to her and tried not to allow things to affect her, but Tessa's pain was just so much. Jaw quivering, Betsy stroked her hand through Tessa's hair soothingly and lied.

"It's going to be okay, Tess. _You'll_ be okay." She had never voiced emptier words.

-----A few hours later-----

**Rogue opened her eyes and found herself strapped down uncomfortably to an operating table in the same room that she'd found Wanda and Erik in.** She twisted in confusion as her eyes scanned the room before falling on the one other person present. "Emma." Rogue greeted, blinking at the telepath. "How've you been?"

Emma's eyes were scanning Rogue up and down as she sat up and rubbed her head soothingly. There was a small headache throbbing at the back of her mind. "I'm fine, Rogue. I should ask you that. How do you feel?"

"A little sleepy." Rogue admitted, glancing around at the same room she had freed Wanda and Erik from. "But Ah'm alright."

"Well, I'm glad to hear that." Emma clicked her tongue as she watched Rogue jump from the table and work the circulation back into her legs. "Where are you going?" Emma asked, watching her with intense eyes.

"Shouldn't you know?" Rogue asked, chuckling. "What kinda telepath are you, Emma?"

"You've always been difficult for me to read." Emma pointed out. "All the psyches in your mind make a mess of trying to read you."

"In that case, Ah'm going ta visit Tessa." Rogue admitted. Emma lifted an eyebrow. Somewhat haughtily, Rogue drew herself up. "Ah don't have to explain mahself to you about that, Emma."

"No need." Emma interjected. "It's understandable that you'd want to see her."

"Can you get a line of mutants ready fohr me afterwards?" Rogue asked, calming her tone a little once Emma didn't push the issue of her visit. "Ah want ta get this training all through as quick as possible. You'll be going to Xavier's School after, won't you?"

Emma nodded. "Ororo is being kept in a sedated state until I get there."

"Good." Rogue bobbed her head agreeably. "Now that Storm's on our side, we can contact Hank in Washington. Are the 'humans' ready for the staged attack?"

"Yes." Emma confirmed. "And our senators and other contacts in the government are waiting for the issue to be presented to push through _our_ legislation."

"And the president?" Rogue pushed.

"Dead." Emma told her. "Latenda has already taken his place."

"Excellent." Rogue clapped her hands together. "You better take off then. Hank's going to want to be hearing from you once the mansion's attacked."

"I'll be in touch." Emma promised, showing an uncharacteristic lack of malice. With that, she left. Rogue stretched her legs before biting down on her bottom lip.

"Now Tessa…" she winced. "Well, it's about time we had a _real_ talk." With that mindset, Rogue followed Emma's steps out of the room and split off to go her own way.

-----

**Tessa was analyzing the bed frame and trying to undo the bolts with her fingers when Rogue appeared outside of the cell bars.** Betsy was the first to notice, as she was just sitting and watching Tessa futilely attempt to find something they could use as an escape. She wasn't cold enough to outright tell the girl that she was wasting her time. Betsy glanced up from Tessa and jolted back. "Rogue."

Tessa spun immediately and her eyes widened. "Rogue!" She rushed over to the bars, looking the girl up and down. "A-Are you okay?" Tessa stuttered, not expecting Rogue to just up and appear in front of them. "What happened? Did your friends get out okay?"

"Tessa…" Betsy probed gently, untrusting of the girl before them.

"Mah friends are not fahne." Rogue answered coldly. "Erik is dead because of you."

Tessa blanched back in surprise and shock. She had never known Erik personally, he was Betsy's assignment, but Rogue's words still struck her. Behind her, Betsy looked up in surprise too. "Erik's dead?" She asked, stunned.

"Don't sound so happy about it, traitor." Rogue sneered at Betsy. "Your turn will come."

"How'd he die?" Betsy asked curiously, not sure how to take the news of his death. Shaw would have nothing to gain from Erik's death. Maybe he was just resentful of all the mutants that rallied to Erik's cause from his. But still, it made no sense. All the mutants had gained their powers back already and nearly all of them had returned to Shaw. Why would he kill the old man? They both played on the same side…

Rogue's muted grey eyes blazed sharply. "Ask Tessa that. She poisoned him."

"What?" Tessa moved closer to the bars. "I didn't kill Erik!"

Rogue's expression was hard. "Ah didn't come here ta argue facts with you."

"Why did you come?" Betsy asked sarcastically. "Feeling the need to gloat for your self esteem issues?"

"Shut up, telepath." Rogue snapped. She shot out a hand and an electric jolt shot from her fingers at Betsy. Betsy was electrified for half a moment and dropped to her knees, breathing heavily and raggedly. "Ah came ta talk ta you, Tessa."

Tessa looked like she wanted to go help Betsy, but Rogue stopped her by reaching through the bars and grabbing hold of Tessa's arm with her ungloved hand. Tessa felt a short tingle run through her before she stiffened and her limbs locked into place. "The _only_ reason you're still breathing is because of the child you hold that belongs to Shaw." Rogue told her harshly. Tessa couldn't move, but her eyes revealed everything.

_Child? I can't-surely she doesn't mean…oh God, please no, please don't let this be happening to me. Please. I can't-don't let this be real. Please, please, please God! _Rogue read the petrification in her eyes and smiled cruelly. "That's right Tess, you're pregnant. The good doctor confirmed it when he was lookin' for your 'tumor.' Congratulations! How's it feel to be pregnant with a child to a man you despise?"

Rogue sneered at her. "Ah came here, Tess, ta erase any delusion about friendship you think we have. Any guilt Ah might have had along the way while we 'bonded' as ya told me of your deception ta the Mutant Champions is gone. You've killed one'a mah friends, an' Ah'm personally goin' ta make sure ya suffer as much as possible before we end your miserable little life." Rogue released her from her grip and her paralysis. Tessa fell back slightly as her movement came back before she pressed up against the bars again.

"Rogue!" Breathless, she called out to the girl as Rogue stepped away and turned to leave. "Rogue, I didn't kill him! It wasn't me! Shaw's manipulating you! You don't believe in the Mutant Champions, you believe in what's right!"

"What's right." Rogue scowled. "Is our freedom. Sorry ya don't share the same view, Tess. Ya know, Shaw really loved you. It wasn't fake for him—and look what you've done with that." She spat, growling. "You used him and then you tried to use me fohr your own escape. You're a deceptionist, Tessa, a snake. Ah personally hope he burns you alive." Rogue glared at her darkly. "This is the end, Tess. It's done." Saying no more and ignoring Tessa calling out to her, Rogue turned again and left. Her footsteps echoed out behind her as the last dying sound of her exit.


	43. Taking Measures

**Rogue entered the Practice Arena and took a double take. **She rushed forward to the mutants in the middle of the room and covered a hand over her mouth in shock. Several of her companions lay unconscious, sprawled across the floor of the Practice Arena. Two adult X-Men, a couple of the younger kids, and one of Erik's followers. Her searching eyes fell upon Emma. "Where are the others?!"

"They were not at the mansion." Emma replied stiffly.

"If they bloody weren't at the mansion, where are they?!" Rogue demanded to know. "Ah don't want mah friends hurt with these raids we're sendin' out, Emma! You know how close we are ta everythin' comin' together! How could you let this happen?!"

"With all due respect, Rogue." Emma started icily. "I was not part of the strike team that lost the mutants."

"Ah don't care!" Rogue was furious. "You're the telepath! Ya should have known and informed me hours ago!"

Emma gave her an icy glare. "You were otherwise busy."

"Where are they now?" Rogue barked.

"On their way to the White House." Emma informed her. "We have a team ready to pick them up as we speak."

"No!" Rogue protested. "Do _not_ approach them with your team." Emma waited for further prompting or an explanation. "The whole point of bringing them here, other than for absorption purposes, is to _protect_ them from the raids that are going to occur. Ah know how careless about safety our teams are an' Ah won't risk them hurtin' mah friends jus' ta bring 'em to safety."

"You want to go there yourself." Emma guessed.

Rogue eyed her companions. "Is the line of _our_ mutants ready? Bring back the team you sent out to fetch them. Send me the coordinates of mah friends' locations and Ah'll teleport there mahself. When Ah get back, Ah'll drain them all an' Ah expect you ta build up that same passage-thing that Tessa used to construct fohr me while Ah absorb them so Ah'm not bothered bah their psyches."

"…As you wish." Emma was clearly displeased.

"Let me jus' take these fohr now." Rogue went over to the three unconscious mutants sprawled out and knelt next to the first one. She lightly brushed his hair back over his forehead before gently laying her bare hand across his flesh. "Bobby…" Rogue murmured softly as she felt the intoxicating swell of power rush into her. "Ah'm sorry fohr this." She closed her eyes as she engorged herself on his lifeforce, positively basking in the transfer. She pulled her hand away shortly after and, feeling slightly guilty about how much pleasure she was getting from draining him, she moved away to the next unconscious body.

It was Peter. Rogue lightly brushed her fingers against his skin too and reveled in the enticing strength as his energy flowed into her. Not wanting to take longer than necessary, Rogue reached out her other hand and laid it against Juggernaut's face at the same time. The rush of energy that assaulted her, coming from two separate people at once, was pure ecstasy. Rogue cried out loudly as the mixed essences streamed into her, so pure, so beautiful, so _powerful_ that Rogue temporarily lost herself in the feeling. _Ah wonder if this is what sex feels lihke. _She thought idly.

Emma grunted and Rogue came back to her right mind as she drew her hands away from both of them simultaneously. Hard of breath with her heart racing, Rogue fought to calm down her body. Feeling sheepish that Emma had witnessed her bliss moment and surely heard her cry out in ecstasy, Rogue straightened quickly and brushed off her jeans.

"I've built in the channeling system." Emma told her. "So I won't have to be here when you…absorb anyone else." Her tone was clearly mocking and sardonic.

Rogue shot Emma a dark look. She couldn't really defend herself though, as she _had_ clearly lost herself in the feeling of the absorption. Instead of replying to Emma's quip, Rogue merely said, "ah'll be back," before disappearing from the room entirely.

-----

"**Idiot child."** Emma telepathically called in some Mutant Champion members to carry out the unconscious mutants and lock them up. _Once she gathers up all the X-Men, she's going to be less than useless, a power figurehead, parading around here like she means anything. Like this couldn't have happened without her. Hah! Shaw, you poor, ignorant bastard. For a man with such high-reaching goals, you have a child's trust of those around you. Even your wife, Tessa! You should have learned with her, you stupid, stupid man. You can't trust a telepath._

Making her way to the doors, Emma swiftly left and began making her way through the rooming corridors. _At least you set up this empire correctly. Who knew you had it in you? To gather all of these 'followers' of yours and branch out your network across the country. I must say, that did impress me. It's too bad that you're not worth the trouble of sharing the title of overlord. You've made it pathetically easy for me to steal it from you. _Emma shook her head as she came before a keypad door and inserted her hand. _Your caution about not letting Rogue absorb a telepath will be the death of you._

The keypad bleeped after Emma spoke her password and allowed her entry. Emma strolled in leisurely. In direct violation to Rogue's orders, Emma had brought Ororo to the base along with all the other youngsters. There really was no harm in it and Emma didn't intend to be caught in the crossfire when the raids took place, thus she'd brought the wind rider here instead. Ororo was sedated and unconscious, lying sprawled in a sideways position across the bed. Smiling evilly to herself, Emma approached the bed. _Time to have a change of heart, Ororo._

_-----  
_

"**Wanda."** A soft tone called out to her lightly, drawing her away from the murky darkness. "Wanda." It whispered again, seeking her out.

_Who's there? _Wanda tried to ask, but her lips wouldn't obey. She was so tired, her body felt so heavy and her mind seemed muddled and meshed together. Wanda was having trouble putting coherent thoughts together.

"Wanda, I'm here." The voice spoke to her again. "You don't have to worry. I'll guide you back.

_Guide me? ...you're my conscience! _Wanda realized with iron certainty.

"Yes, come on. Come back to me, Wanda."

Wanda felt light then, happy that she could guess who was addressing her. It was a good feeling, sort of feathery and glowing. _It's feels like forever since you've addressed me._ Wanda snorted back a chuckle. _Hahaha-forever, get it? 'Cause you've never really talked to me like this before, so it's literally __**and**__ figuratively been forever. _She coughed back another laugh and smiled to herself.

"Wanda, are you okay?" The voice was worried now, concerned for her.

_I know I don't smile a lot, but it doesn't mean I'm sick. _Wanda responded somewhat defensively.

"Please be alright, Wanda. Come back to me."

_What do you mean, come back? I'm still here! And that's your fault, by the way, that you haven't ever addressed me like this before._

Something warm and fleshy was pressed up against her neck then and Wanda forced her heavy eyes to open at the intrusion. A very blurred image of color appeared in his vision and Wanda had to force herself to blink a few times. Even then, the blurration didn't entirely go away, just fade down a bit. Although she couldn't make out his features, the telltale white hair gave away the person above her. "Peeahro-" Wanda's throat was so dry that she couldn't even force his name out. It felt as if someone had shoved cotton down her throat and scraped it over with sandpaper.

Pietro had zapped to attention at her first movement and gripped her fingers tightly in his own. "What-what is it, Wanda? Do you have to go to the bathroom? I'll carry you there." Pietro stood to assist her, but Wanda's eyes drooped closed again as she shook her head lightly from side to side. "What is it, Wanda? Tell me what you need."

"'aaherr." Wanda tried again, trying to force her voice out through the cotton in her throat.

Pietro blinked above her for a second, still trying to comprehend her request. It hit him half a moment later and he dropped her hand abruptly. "I'll go get you some water!" Before Wanda could even nod once, he had zipped away. Wanda had half a moment to herself where Pietro impatiently waited for the sink to fill the cup faster before he was back at her side, lifting her head and helping her tilt the cup back into her mouth. The water that cascaded down her sore, scratchy throat was like heaven. Wanda took in all she could from the glass Pietro presented her with and Pietro was quickly running off to get another as soon as the first was empty.

Wanda spilled a little on the second one, her hands unsteady and her eyes still unfocused, but Pietro was quick to pick up and help her again. When she had finished draining the second cup, he gently laid her head back down on the fluffy Egyptian cotton pillow to let her rest again.

"Wanda…God, I'm sorry."

Wanda looked at him with glazed eyes, not seeing his expression, but knowing he was there. The blurred colors told her so. His familiar white head was a comfort. "I knew you'd come for me." She murmured softly. "You always come for me in my dreams."

"Wanda…" Pietro was at a loss for words.

"I've had a lot of time to dream, recently." Wanda told him slowly, softly, her voice barely touching a whisper. "Even my conscience spoke to me."

_She's still drugged._ Pietro realized, an iron hand gripping his insides. _I can't tell her. Not when she's like this._ Pietro gripped her hand. It was a comfort to him, a reminder that she was still here and still okay, that she was with him. It was unbelievable to him. Wanda was _alive_. Pietro didn't have words to express the joy in his heart. Pietro traced a finger through her hair as she closed her eyes again. "What did your conscience say?" Pietro asked her, playing along. He just wanted to hear her voice. Her speech soothed him.

"He said he'd guide me." Wanda told him. "He didn't have a very good sense of humor though."

Pietro smiled softly. "_He_? Why a _he_?"

Wanda yawned tiredly. "He sounded boyish." She shifted on the bed. "You don't think that's abnormal, do you? That my conscience is a boy? I mean, what does that say about me?"

"No, Wanda, I don't think that's abnormal. My conscience is a girl, you know."

"Really?" Wanda asked, smiling softly. "I'm not the only one? That makes me feel better, thanks Pietro." Wanda squeezed his hand. "I'm sleepy."

"Go to sleep." Pietro urged quietly. "You need your rest."

"My _beauty_ sleep." Wanda smiled into her pillow. "So I can be beautiful when I wake up."

"You're always beautiful." Pietro complimented her.

"Goodnight, Pietro." Wanda yawned. "'Love you." There was a long pause then, broken first by Wanda as a splash of something wet hit her cheek. "It's raining." Wanda pointed out.

"I'll shut the roof." Pietro promised. He stood quietly as Wanda's hand went limper in his as she pulled away into sleep. Bending down, Pietro gently kissed Wanda on the cheek. "I love you too, Wanda." He silently left the sleeping girl and rubbed the back of his hand across his cheek, erasing all evidence of the fallen tear.

-----

**Tessa stared forward with empty, hollow eyes. They were red around the corners and red streaks down her chin clearly marked where tears had fallen not long ago. **She sat stiffly and tried to comprehend everything that was happening and everything that was about to happen. She also tried to reach her powers, to touch the comforting presence in her that made her different and special, the power that had brought her into all of this. No matter how deep she went into herself or how hard she tried, her powers did not respond to her.

"You should eat something, Tess." Betsy urged her, studying the broken girl from her position on the hard metal bed.

Tessa remained mute, simply staring out behind the bars. _I'm pregnant. I'm pregnant and I'm alone._

"Tessa…" Betsy tried again, trailing off. Tessa's mind was elsewhere and she wasn't really seeing the bars in front of her. No, nothing that comforting. She saw Shaw's face, his expression layered over Rogue's features as Rogue coldly informed her that all their work, all their progress thus far, had been all for nothing. Shaw would succeed and Rogue was his tool to doing so. _The poor girl. I'm responsible for all of this. She never should have been dragged into it at all. If I had pushed her out at the beginning…_

"Tess." Betsy was suddenly kneeling beside her and gripping her hand tightly. "Tess, come back."

Tessa's glazed eyes rolled over to Betsy then. The sight of the other woman tightened her throat and made her want to cry again. _Betsy's stuck in this too._ Her eyes locked on the metal collar around Betsy's neck. _Betsy _likes _her telepathy…being powerless must be killing her. God, she's given up so much too. And now Shade's back too. We're all condemned here. What was I fighting for all this time? To get rid of Shaw? To stop his over-zealous goals of domination over humans? What's it really all for, anyway? _"Tessa, please respond." Betsy seemed to be getting desperate herself now.

"I'm sorry." Tessa apologized. _I'm sorry for all of it. How I wish I never would have come here…_

Betsy was momentarily calmed by the sound of Tessa's voice again. "Please don't do this, Tess."

"Do what?"

"Give up." Betsy gripped her fingers. "Don't give up."

"You said it yourself." Tessa pointed out. "We've lost. It's over."

"I don't mean that. I mean on everything—you've given up on everything, Tess. Don't."

"What's there left?" Tessa glanced around their cell. "No one knows we're here except a delusional Rogue, we've got no chance of rescue, we failed our mission, and I'm dead anyway. Why bother to eat? Why bother to do anything? I'd rather starve myself here than live to…to…" she trailed off, wearing a pained expression. "I'm _pregnant, _Betsy."

"Shhh." Betsy hushed. "I know, Tess, I know, but that doesn't mean we both have to be trapped here. You can get out—Tess, are you listening?"

Tessa chuckled emptily; the sound was hollow and echoed off the stone walls. "What, escape, Betsy? Now there's an idea. How enticing. Let's just walk _through_ the stone walls and out the cell door, huh?"

"Tess, snap out of this now. I need you coherent and listening."

Tessa held a hand to her head and saluted. "Ai, Ay, captain. Please, feel free to proc—"

Betsy slapped her then, a hard backhand across the cheek that moved Tessa's head to the side. Tessa held up a hand and touched her cheek gingerly. "We both did _not_ sacrifice a year of our lives and our futures for eventual condemnation, Tessa! We're getting out and you're going to help me, whether you feel like it or not. You say you're dead anyway? Then go out rebelling, not moaning in your own pity!"

Tessa blinked a couple of times before looking around them again. "What do you suggest we do? If you haven't noticed, we're kinda stuck."

"You're going to get out of the cell 'cause I'm going to beat you."

Tessa blanched and flinched away. "What?!"

"Listen, if you're injured badly enough, someone's going to have to come in here and take you out to fix you in the med lab. That's your chance at escape. You know this place like the back of your hand, Tess. You can get out of here and then tell the X-Men that I'm here and tell them what's going on with Rogue."

Tessa stuttered. "I-I can't do that! B-Betsy, we have no powers! If you beat me, how the hell am I supposed to escape a complex full of mutants while injured?!"

"You probably still have all your clearance." Betsy pointed out. "Just get to a closed off area where most of them won't be able to follow before making your way out. Just 'cause you're powerless, doesn't mean you have to be useless."

"Well, why can't you do it?" Tessa cried frantically, not liking this plan at all. "Why don't _I_ beat _you_ and you can play the hero!"

"I'm too noticeable."

"And I'm what, Waldo?!" Tessa asked incredulously.

"My hair's purple!" Betsy argued.

"Yeah, well, whose fault is that?!" Tessa protested. "Besides, I'm pregnant!"

"Barely! Besides, _you've_ got all the clearance in here!" Betsy pointed out again.

"And _you've_ got the martial arts training!" Tessa threw back at her.

"So do you! And no one's gunna care if _I'm_ beaten up, but _you're_ the one with the baby! They'll have to come rushing to aid you!"

"Hey that's not fair! You can't use the child as an arguing point!"

"You did first!" Betsy squabbled petulantly. "Besides, how many people do you think Shaw told that you betrayed him? I'm willing to bet not many! He'll probably just tell them all that you died to save face!"

"So what will they think when they see the walking dead?" Tessa shot back. "Compared to if they see a random, purple haired-bimbo, I'm willing to bet they let _you_ go free first!"

Betsy opened her mouth, then paused. "Did you just call me a bimbo?"

"You slapped me." Tessa brought up again, crossing her arms over her chest. She turned her head away from Betsy huffily. "Sorry." She grunted resentfully.

Betsy genuinely smiled. "You're still going."

"What, you come in here to my personal space, disrupt my pity party, slap me, and up and decide that _I_ have to be the one to escape after you beat me up?! What nerve!" Tessa held her haughty sitting position.

Betsy chuckled and stood up, offering a hand to Tessa. "You know you wanna be the one to do this, Tess."

"And leave you purposefully rotting in here?" Nevertheless, Tessa took her helping hand as Betsy pulled her up to her feet. "You should be so lucky _if_ I go to tell them that you're here."

Betsy grinned and held up her fists. "Alright, Tess, this is gunna hurt a bit." Betsy advanced on her and made to swing her fist at her chin. Tessa reeled down her back at the last moment and spun on one leg as she turned and kicked Betsy in the stomach. Betsy fell back on her butt harshly and clutched her stomach. "Tess!" She groaned, clutching her flat belly.

"That was for slapping me."

Still holding her stomach, Betsy kicked out at Tessa's ankles and brought the girl down beside her too. Tessa breathed up heavily from her back as Betsy straightened herself and pulled back up. "This is gunna be unpleasant." Tessa observed wryly.

"I'll be gentle." Betsy promised, smiling wickedly.

"I'm thinkin' that now's a good time to become religious."

Betsy grinned. "Just hold still, Tess."

"I bruise easily?" Tessa tried feebly.

"I'll keep that in mind." Betsy pounced on her.


	44. Power

**Rogue reappeared on top of a tall building. **Shaking her head slightly at the teleportation, Rogue quickly went invisible. She glanced over the side of the building and grinned down at the tiny people on the sidewalk and the far road underneath her. Stepping over to the edge, Rogue dove down off the building and let the air whip past her as it sent her hair flying upwards as she fell. Rogue smiled lightly as she let gravity take her down in height. When she was only fifteen feet above the ground, Rogue finally chose to use Carol's inherent gifts. She lifted herself up from the dive, saving herself from what would otherwise be a painful impact with the ground.

Rogue flew above the road speculatively, letting Argus's gift of vision widen her pupils and let her see for miles ahead. She spotted the bus very quickly; it wasn't very low profile and Rogue already knew what the thing looked like from Emma. Surging forward, Rogue flew to the bus and gently lowered herself to the roof. Clinging with an iron grip to the impression in the top of the bus where there was an emergency exit, Rogue contemplated where to go from here.

She couldn't very well just pick up the bus and fly off with it. There was other traffic around and it would draw attention, something she didn't want. _Ah could just turn it invisible and fly off with it…_ Rogue mused. _But that runs the risk of being seen too. Ah'm sure that watchin' a bus vanish from sight isn't somethin' people get to see everyday. Ah suppose Ah should jus' go inside an' let Kurt pull us over, right?_

Deciding that that was the best way to be unobvious about it, Rogue climbed forward and glanced through the front windshield at her destination. Keeping her invisibility on, Rogue disappeared again with a small puff and reappeared back inside the bus. Rogue smiled softly. A couple of the kids in the back were asleep, but the rest were wide awake and active.

_Kurt must have his hands full._ Rogue realized, watching the young kids squabble and jump at each other anxiously. She trained her gaze onto her brother then, watching him intently for a moment. Kurt looked pretty tired. There were sleep-deprived bags under his eyes and his exhaustion was clear with the slumped posture and resignation in his expression. His self-inflicted scars were clear and pronounced against his sunken expression and Rogue thought he looked a little pale, though it was hard to tell with his blue skin.

Rogue removed the invisibility then, as she stood next to Kurt at the front, and laid a hand gently on Kurt's shoulder. "Hey, brother."

Kurt jerked to life, his tired eyes widening as his jaw dropped and his hands loosed on the wheel. The bus started drifting over to the next lane as he stared at her in wide-eyed wonder. A car horn blared and Kurt jerked again, swinging the wheel around back the other direction as an oncoming car just barely missed smashing into them. "Mein Gott!" Kurt steadied the wheel in his hands and focused on the wheel again as he drove to the next light. "Mein Gott! Wo tat, kommen Sie von?!"

_Maybe appearing out of nowhere and scaring the driver to death wasn't the brightest idea after all._ "Ah'm a girl of many talents, Kurt, but German isn't one of them."

"Rogue?" An incredulous voice from the back spoke up. Rogue turned her head around to the back of the bus to see that she was now the center of attention to every eye. A hush had fallen over the active X-kids and those who had been asleep were anxiously being nudged back into consciousness. "How the hell did you get here?!" It was Rahne who was speaking, Rogue identified.

Kurt pulled over at the next light into a side development. Rogue scanned the road quickly and decided it was a safe time to pull a disappearing act. "Let's talk somewhere where we won't be interrupted." Rogue touched the ceiling of the bus and teleported the whole bus, contents and all, to the roof she had first appeared on when arriving. Paige squeaked, terrified, and clung to her brother Sam for support as they landed on the roof.

"Now why couldn't Kurt do that to get us to the white house?" Sparks complained loudly, just waking up and rubbing his eyes as he looked at Rogue. "Who's this broad anyway?"

"It's Rogue." Philip whispered quietly, munching on a Wendy's burger.

"Hello everybody." Rogue greeted. "Nice to see y'all.

"How'd she get here?" Rahne asked again.

"Vhat's going on?" Kurt asked, turning away from the front of the bus to face her too. "How did you escape?"

"Escape? No need fohr escape." Rogue shook her head. "The Mutant Champions weren't holding me captive."

Kurt frowned. "...Vey weren't?"

"Of course not." Rogue retorted. "Ah'm one of the highest rankin' mutants in the group!"

"Vhat?!"

Jubilee blinked, dumbfounded. "Did she just say…Rogue, you're a _part_ of the Mutant Champions?"

"Who're the Mutant Champions?" Magenta asked, whispering to Bethany. Bethany looked pained as she shrugged.

"I don't know."

"Ah am." Rogue confirmed. "An' Ah'm here to bring y'all back with me so ya safe from the raids."

"Raids?" Zack asked, similarly confounded.

"There's about ta be a buncha raids goin' out an' hurtin' mutants." Rogue explained. "Ah'm gunna shelter y'all from it bah bringing you back with me."

"To the Mutant Champions?" Rahne asked disbelievingly. "They're the ones who attacked us!"

"Rogue's a part of guys who attacked us?" Siren asked frantically, panicking.

"That was a misunderstanding." Rogue reasoned. "Their orders were jus' ta collect ya up ta bring you back to safety. Some members of the team just got a little out of hand."

"Out of hand?" Rahne's expression was unconvinced and skeptical. "They nearly killed us!"

"Start at ze beginning, Rogue." Kurt said. "Tell us all vhat happened."

"Well, Ah joined the Mutant Champions when Shaw approached me." Rogue started.

"Shaw?" Zack asked. "Who's he?"

"Shaw's the creator and commander of the Mutant Champions." Rogue explained. "He came to me an' told me that he had a way ta bring back Wanda to life if Ah'd hear him out."

"Vanda?" Kurt asked.

"She's a friend of mine." Rogue went on. "An acquaintance Ah met while at Mystique's."

"Mystique, as in the terrorist who tried to kill you a few years ago?" Sam asked, his eyebrows scrunched. "As in the person who kidnapped you in the first place?"

Rogue nodded. "Mystique's mah mother." That drew a few gasps and exclamations, but Rogue quieted them down and continued. "Puttin' a long story short: Mystique kidnapped me ta get ta know me, there were some complications in the middle of this all where one of mah friends, Wanda, died. Ah went ta Erik's to see him an' let Wanda-in-mah-head talk to him an' Shaw approached me then. He said that he could bring back Wanda if Ah agreed to help his cause, which is the promotion of mutant's rights."

"Mutant rights?" Rahne spat. "More like mutant superiority! You _agreed_ to this, Rogue?"

"I'm confused." Zack worded carefully. "The Mutant Champions believe in the elevation of mutants above the rest of humanity…"

"Yeah?" Rogue asked, not seeing his point.

Zack's eyebrows crossed darkly. "Isn't that the same thing that Magneto works for? Magneto, as in the enemy of Xavier's Institute because of his radical ideas and striving for power? The same guy that fixed you up in machine to die to get that sort of power?"

"Sort of." Rogue confessed. "But it's different. Shaw's got all the tools to make it happen, Magneto was just pettily trying to level the playing field."

"Pettily trying?" Jubilee seemed incredulous too. "He nearly killed _every_ human being on the planet _and_ all the X-Men last year while betraying us to do Stryker's work! You call that petty?!"

"Rogue, you really don't believe in zat." Kurt pressed. "I _know_ you don't. You've always strove after Xavier's dreams."

"Xavier lives in land of fantasy." Rogue told them. "Humans and mutants are _never_ gunna be equal or coexist peacefully together. Look at history: colored races are still treated as inferior, women are paid less, immigrants are all classified as below us, prejudice still exists all over the world. Ya hear about hate crimes daily in the newspaper: whether they're against mutants, blacks, immigrants, women, it doesn't matter. It still exists in tha world and it always will unless _we_ take up a stand against it and elevate ourselves higher. We're mutants, guys, we _are_ better than humans."

Argus's glorified words about Rogue leading them to the future were coming back to haunt Zack again. It seemed like the mutant had been telling the truth. Zack wasn't sure how much to credit him back then; he'd been skeptical about how much Rogue would help them, but now it seemed like she was more than willing. "So what?" Zack asked, gaining a harsher tone. "You'd rather have _us_ discriminate against _them_? That doesn't solve anything! It just makes you into the aggressor."

"Even if it doesn't stop the prejudice." Rogue pushed. "It still gives _us_ our rightful place _above_ humans. It's where we belong. Why should we suffer because we've evolved faster? That doesn't make any sense—_they're_ the weak link in the chain."

"And why don't we just eradicate them entirely then?" Rahne challenged, standing and moving up to Rogue. "If they're such a pain and good for nothing, we should just get rid of them huh? Mass genocide anybody?"

"It's not lihke that." Rogue argued.

"Really?" Kurt challenged too, standing from his seat and blocking behind Rogue.

"'Cause that's what it sounds like." Zack stood and lined himself next to Rahne in the small space of the bus hallway.

Magenta's eyes started to glow. Stricken, she watched the adults before her with glowing purple eyes. "Bethany!"

Bethany's eyes widened at Magenta's rising mutation. "Shhh!" She grabbed Magenta in her arms. "Close your eyes, Magenta! Don't listen to them!"

"The Rogue I know doesn't believe any of the rubbish you're feeding us." Kurt stood defiantly. "Who are you? Vhat have you done to Rogue?"

It was Rogue's turn to look stricken now. "Guys, it's me! Ah swear, okay? Ah'm jus' tryin' ta help our race out."

Jubilee joined in too, then. "I don't know you very well, Rogue, but no one at the mansion believes in what you're spewing. You're not yourself."

"Listen, guys—Ah jus' wanna take y'all back with me so you're safe from the raids, okay?"

"The raids…and who orchestrated these raids?" Zack asked suspiciously. "Another trick of the Mutant Champions, perhaps?"

"Beth!" Magenta cried, sweating profusely as a light glow started to spread over her body.

"Don't make me fight y'all." Rogue warned, seeing the look in all of their eyes. "Ah don't want ta hurt ya or force you."

Jubilee snorted. "Check your odds, girl. There's eleven of us and only one of you."

"Help me!" Magenta cried frantically, the glow around her body intensifying.

Rogue's eyes fell on Bethany, who was clutching Magenta tightly and trying to calm the girl. "Let go of her!" Rogue ordered, seeing that Magenta was about to go. Ignoring everyone around her, Rogue teleported and grabbed Magenta before porting again, right out of Bethany's grip and onto the rooftop beside the bus.

The teleportation and abrupt grabbing was enough to scare Magenta over the edge. As soon as they both appeared again outside the bus, Magenta lost her hold on her power. A huge shock wave caught Rogue entirely as it shot out from Magenta's body and flung her away. A shocking blast of pain ran through Rogue's entire body as she was hurdled back. She had been clinging to Magenta and wrapped around the smaller girl, so the first thing the wave struck was her and it _hurt_.

Mentally, Rogue quickly commanded Sor's pain-controlling powers to absorb up the agony as she flew and tumbled back through the air. Unable to steady herself in time, Rogue crashed through a glass window of another building and whistled back, her momentum taking her through several collapsible desk-separation walls before she her back and her head finally slammed up against a solid metal foundation and she stopped. Slumping to the ground, Rogue heaved in a heavy breath as she jacked up Sor's powers to ease off the pain entirely.

A crowd was starting to gather and gasp around her from the office. It wasn't every day that they saw a woman flung through the window and miraculously survive being pitched across the room through their walls. Rogue shook her head, clearing it, before she disappeared from the scene with a puff.

-----

**Reappearing on the roof again surprised everybody. **The blast must have pitched the bus over because it was lying haphazardly on its side now and everybody had filed out, some looking more ruffled than others. Rogue was sure that she must have made quite a picture herself too. No doubt her hair was wildly crazy and Rogue felt small pieces of glass that were still nuzzled into her shirt and hair. The pieces didn't scratch her at all, and they didn't hurt—not with Sor's power—but Rogue imagined that, if she wasn't blocking it off, her body must be pretty sore right now.

"That wasn't fun." Rogue was irritable. What was wrong with her friends? She was just trying to help them. And now they all just stood against her like she was the bad guy? She was following a realistic path, not a dreamer's. Was it so wrong to want to stop the discrimination against them? To elevate her race to their rightful status? No, they were the ones that were wrong.

Around her, wide-eyed mutant companions stared at her in shock. "You're alive!" Kurt blurted, rushing towards her.

"Ah'm takin' you back." Rogue told him before he could reach her. "All of you. You'll be safer with me."

Kurt stopped then and Rahne crossed her arms over her chest. "Over my dead body." She glanced at the window that had been broken across the way in the other building. "There's still more of us than you. We're not going with you, Rogue."

Rogue sighed heavily. "Ah jus' want to help. Why can't y'all see that?"

"We can't go with you." Kurt said, sounding regretful and looking pained as he voiced the words. "We don't play on that side, Rogue. And we're not letting you go back either."

Rogue snorted back her laughter at the thought that they thought they could beat her. "Ya don't have ta come willingly." Bursting forward with Pietro's quick speed, Rogue raced over to Kurt first. He'd be one of the hardest to catch since he was a teleporter. Sure enough, as soon as she got to him, Kurt teleported away to the opposite end of the roof. Rogue raced to follow him. It'd just be a game of wearing him down, she reasoned. She certainly wouldn't lose energy before Kurt, so she just had to keep chasing him until he teleported himself silly with exhaustion.

That plan was ruined, though, when Bethany cast out her hands and, groaning with the strain, slowed Rogue's speed. What normally would have put Rogue into slow motion simply returned her back to normal speed. Bethany wasn't strong enough to stop her entirely, but she did have enough power to cast Pietro's speed off so that she moved at a normal pace. Annoyed, Rogue telekinetically lifted Bethany and slammed her into Magenta, making sure both girls' heads slapped against each other and drove them unconscious. Still though, Bethany's slowed speed held. It seemed that once inflicted, it lasted for a little while.

An electric zing and a plasma blast hit Rogue at the same time and pitched her forward slightly. Rogue grunted. The electricity sent her hair into a wild nest and Jubilee's blast had burned through her clothing, but the powers did little to hurt her near-invulnerable skin or overcome Sor's pain-blocking powers. Rogue teleported behind Sparks and grabbed him from behind, laying her bare hand across his throat. Rogue reveled in the absorption of energy as it flowed from the terrified, stiff boy under her into her own body.

Jubilee, looking horrified, spun around and aimed another blast at Rogue. Chuckling as the plasma burned through her shirt's shoulder, Rogue held out a hand and, using a combination of Electro _and_ Sparks powers, she electrified Jubilee. Jubilee gasped and squeaked, her eyes wide as she froze. It only took a few seconds before Rogue deemed it was enough and released the girl. Jubilee crumpled down, unconscious. Rogue released Sparks too and he similarly collapsed.

Something bit her shoulder and Rogue trained her eyes instead on Rahne, who was half-morphed into her canine form and ripping at her shoulder. Rogue grinned cruelly when Rahne drew back in surprise. Rogue's invulnerable skin could not be broken by the girl's mere teeth. Rogue stretched her arm forward, using her rubber-skin ability, and wound her arm around Rahne's neck.

Rahne stiffened in her grip, frozen as Rogue took in her energies. "Let go of her!" Zack shouted angrily, charging at Rogue. With no floral or plants or trees or earth around him, Zack couldn't call upon his mutant abilities to stop her and had to depend on normal, weak abilities. He was easily disposed of as Rogue wrapped her bare flesh around his ankle and pulled his feet out from under him. Philip went down the same way. The boy had no useful mutation for combat, almost no useful mutation for anything. He dropped next to Zack. Rogue had to consciously remind herself to let go.

"That's enough, Rogue!" Sam Guthrie was radiating with an orange-yellow glow. The glow spread out from him and traveled over Rogue. A strange sensation passed through Rogue as she bubble fell over her. She punched out at its wall, but the orange bubble field merely shifted around her fist. Alarmed, Rogue tried to teleport out of the bubble, but found that she couldn't. Her teleportation powers were being blocked by the field. "It's over, Rogue." Sam told her. "My shield only absorbs anything you try to throw at it.

Rogue flexed her fist in the shield, watching her movements closely and the movement of the shield around her. "Fascinating…" Rogue mused. Smiling softly, Rogue closed her eyes and touched the shield experimentally. Her mind and body buzzed with energy at her experiment and Rogue's small smile turned into a cruel grin. "This shield is pure energy." Her eyes shot over to Sam. "And Ah'm the master of absorbing energy." Closing her eyes again, Rogue focused and pressed both her bare hands against the side of the bubble. The bubble around her began to disintegrate as she focused all her will into the task at hand. _Thank you, Tessa._

Sam's eyes widened in shock and surprise as his energy shield that held Rogue captive started shrinking _into_ her. Rogue was positively glowing with raw, pure energy as she dismantled his shield and took it into herself instead. Trembling with such power of the absorption, Rogue gasped in glory as the energy filled her every crevice. She rose into the air as the glow encompassed her and she spread out her hands, basking in the power. Flexing her arm, her muscles rippled with power and glory. _Ah'm –this—mah god! _Rogue was having trouble even putting her thoughts together coherently. _Ah'm pure power! This is glorious! _

Below her, Kurt approached. "We need to go." He reached out to teleport away with the boy, but Rogue stopped him. Rogue cast out her hand and an ice blockade split them. She moved the ice over further and, adding an electric spark to the mix, touched the water and electricity against Kurt. He went down like a deadweight.

_Ah __**need**__ Sam's power! If Ah cahn fill mahself lihke this at any time—God, it's lihke a drug!_ She swooped down from the air and went to touch Sam's face.

"NO!" Paige cried out, jumping in her way. "Leave him alone!" In her diamond form, she gripped Rogue's arms and tried to hold the stronger mutant back.

"Get outa mah way." Rogue ordered. The younger girl was perspirating with the effort of holding Rogue back. When Paige didn't listen, Rogue twisted the girl's arm back carelessly, annoyed with the delay and the distraction. There was an audible snap and Paige yelped as Rogue pushed her down. Tears clouded Paige's eyes as she cradled her broken arm, unable to hold her diamond form, she falling back to the ground naked.

"Paige!" Sam knelt down and grabbed up Paige in his arms. Eyes misted over with tears, he held out a bare hand to Rogue. "Is this what you want, you witch? Just take it and leave then! Leave us alone! You said you're doing this to protect us?! Look what you've done!" Rogue floated down to the rooftop and stood watching, her eyes flicking over the two. "You're a monster!" Sam shouted, crying as he rocked the sobbing Paige in his arms.

_Ah have ta protect them from the raids. That's what Ah'm doin'…isn't it? Ah…Ah know Ah lihke mah absorption more than Ah should, but it's fohr the better. Besides, if Ah cahn jus' create pure energy fields an' absorb 'em, Ah won't need to absorb others anyway…Ah'm going to re-create a better world for them all. Ah just got carried away, that's all. _"Ah'm sorry, Sam." Rogue stepped forward to the both of them and knelt to their level. Gently, she touched a hand against both of their faces at the same time and shivered as the familiar transfer opened up, feeling glorious inside as she tore them apart. They both slumped down after a moment. Rogue held a hand up over Paige's arm and called upon Energizer's healing ability to fix and mend the bones back into place.

Rogue glanced around at the devastation on top of the building, all the felled mutants before her. She bit down on her lower lip._ It wasn't supposed to happen lihke this. They were supposed to just come with me. Why did they make me fight? _Swallowing the lump in her throat and the doubts that went with it, Rogue went about picking up all her friends. _Even if they don't know it's fohr their own good, Ah'm doin' this ta help them. They'll see… they'll see when this is all done. _Rogue gathered all her friends together. Wide spreading her arms around them, Rogue once again disappeared with a small puff. The only evidence of her arrival at all was a tipped-over bus on the side of a flat roof.


	45. Nostalgic

"**Aww, that's nice of you." **Betsy cooed mockingly as they dragged in two other mutant bodies, both of which she recognized. Saddled as she was atop Tessa's stomach, Betsy lifted her fist again. "You've brought me more playmates!"

"Shudd'yup, you." The man who had the group of mutants glanced up just as Betsy landed another punch to Tessa's already swollen jaw. Tessa groaned and held up her arms in front of her face defensively. The man blanched in surprise and dropped the two mutants he was carrying. "Wha-What've you done to her?! Lady Tessa!" He rushed forward and started fumbling with the keys as he went to open the door.

"Sheee's gunna get it!" Betsy taunted, knocking back Tessa's arms and grabbing her throat.

Tessa grabbed her hands and tried to pry Betsy's fingers off her throat as Betsy pretended to choke her. Behind them, the fumbling man finally got the door opened and dashed inside towards the two mutants. "That's enough!" He roared, grabbing Betsy up under her arms and hauling her up off of Tessa. Tessa closed her eyes and breathed a sigh of relief as the man tossed up Betsy against the wall. "You'll get it for this!" He told her angrily, hauling back and gut-punching Betsy in the stomach. Tessa smiled lightly as she heard the punch connect and Betsy gasp as she dropped to her knees. _Serves you right!_

The man turned his back on Betsy and went over to Tessa's side. "Lady Tessa! Say something!"

"…Owch." Tessa laid a hand over her stomach and rolled to her side slightly.

Tessa felt the man's arms reach up and under her as he cradled her carefully to his chest. "I'll find you assistance, Lady Tessa!" He stood from his squat to his full height and turned quickly—just in time to be on the receiving end of a high powered karate kick that landed against his temple. The kick pitched the man back and knocked both his and Tessa's head against the stone behind them before he crumpled, taking Tessa down with him. Tessa grunted as he landed on top of her legs and her ankle twisted back. She breathed in huskily as her head spun.

"What part of the plan was that?!"

"The opportunity was there. Now come on!" Betsy urged, shoving the unconscious man off of her and gripping her hand as she pulled her up. Tessa heaved in a great breath as she did so and winced when she put pressure on her foot.

"My ankle!" Tessa steeled herself against the pain as Betsy braced an arm under her shoulder and hurried her out. As soon as they reached the cell door, Betsy pushed Tessa forward and glanced down the hall speculatively. Two more mutants were down the hall, not twenty feet behind, dragging four other mutants with them. The man had two children and the woman had one kid, one adult. They both dropped their captives abruptly at the sight of the two girls.

"Prison break!" One called out. The other rushed up from behind him and surged forward to subdue the mutants. It was Callisto.

"Shit!" Betsy pushed Tessa up against the bars, where Tessa unsteady clung to keep herself upright. Callisto charged them both and lashed out against Betsy with a spinning kick. Betsy hopped back and the kick narrowly missed breaking several of her ribs. Callisto followed up the attack with a punched that caught Betsy in the shoulder and knocked her back a few paces. Betsy quickly regained her footing, aware of how fragile the moment was and how quick Callisto could be, before she brought up her foot from her squat and lashed out at Callisto's knee.

The move sent Betsy sprawling back on her butt, but it bought her a few seconds as Callisto regained solid footing and rushed her again. Betsy climbed to her feet quickly before Callisto rushed her again and Betsy dropped down to the floor entirely, back flattened against the ground as Callisto dove over her. Callisto crashed to the ground and Betsy climbed over to her in an instant. She got in one good punch before Callisto stopped her fist midair on the second time and drove Betsy's own fist back to punch herself in the face. She did so again and Betsy felt her lower lip split under the blow.

Callisto was about to pull the same move on her again when Betsy forcibly redirected the punch so that it missed her. Smirking, Callisto held Betsy's arm in place with one hand and gripped her fingers with the other. She grinned maliciously and yanked back the middle and pointer fingers harshly. There was an audible snap as Betsy's bones broke under Callisto's great strength. Betsy screamed in pain as white spots danced before her eyes and fire raced up her digits. It only took Callisto a few seconds to roll Betsy over onto her back and take up the position above her. Betsy flinched as her broken fingers were pressed down hard into the ground. Callisto gripped the appendages in her grip and twisted it back.

Betsy cried out as tears clouded her eyes from the relentless fire racing through her now-useless fingers. Above her, Callisto gloated victoriously. "I _am_ the better fighter."

Betsy spat in her face and Callisto slugged her mercilessly across the cheek. She pinned both of Betsy's arms down with her knees. Rolling waves of agony from her hand made it hard to even think and her vision was blurring at the edges. Betsy knew she couldn't take much more. Callisto fastened her grip around Betsy's throat and started to choke her. Betsy's eyes widened as the combination of pain and lack of air started to take a serious toll on her tired body.

Desperately, Betsy tried to pitch up her legs around Callisto's neck, but the woman simply seated herself more firmly on Betsy. Had Betsy been uninjured and at the top of her game, she would have been able to flip the woman off her with her feet, but Betsy was tired and in agony, not to mention suffocating. Her brain didn't even allow herself to function enough to contemplate pulling off such a flexible maneuver. Betsy's legs fell back to the ground limply as she started to fade from the world.

-----

**The man behind Callisto was obviously not a trained fighter.** That was one advantage Tessa had over him, at least. But the man was also not injured from a beating or nursing a twisted ankle either. He was also stronger; not inhumanely so, just muscular. He came at Tessa forcefully with his arms pulled back, both of them, looking like he was going to bear hug her to death.

Tessa huffed breathily and ducked down under his left arm to avoid being crushed against the bars. She used his own momentum against him as she pushed him from behind into the bars more solidly. He banged up against the bars before turning on her angrily, his eyes flaring with rage. Tessa moved in his wide guard to push him back again against his chest, but the man was surprisingly fast for being so imposing. Miscalculating his speed cost her as he grabbed a hold of her arm and caught her shoulder in his other, swinging her around and slamming her back up against the bars.

Tessa groaned at the impact on her sore body and her throbbing ankle as the man moved in front of her and forcibly shoved her up against the bars again. Tessa winced as her bruises were reinjured and the man held her against the bars. Moving both her wrists to one hand, he freed his other to brace against her shoulder, holding her body back. "Think you're gunna escape?" The man's eyes were furious. Tessa wondered what had pissed him off so badly. He leaned in and gloated over her. "You're not going anywhere."

Desperate, Tessa brought her head up to him and kissed the man. The guy was surprised at first, but he soon forgot that as he cupped Tessa's chin and kissed her back fervently. He drew back for a second and grinned at her salaciously. "Like what you feel, do you?"

His arrogance proved to be his undoing. Tessa picked up as much speed and force as she could in such a short distance and smacked her forehead against the man's nose. There was a loud crack and the man cried out in agony as his hands left Tessa and went to his face instead. Tessa held a hand to her head in pain too as a massive headache started to form. _Gahh, nobody wins in a headbutt._

Betsy screamed from somewhere behind the cringing man and Tessa jumped to action. Dropping her hand, she charged the mutant and grabbed him around the middle, football style as she tackled him backwards—right into Callisto, who was sitting on top of Betsy. Their momentum and weight pushed the skinnier mutant off as they all three collapsed in a heap somewhere above Betsy's shoulder.

Callisto was first to recover from their tumble-party, but she was on the bottom, below both Tessa and the crying man who was bleeding all over the place and still holding his nose. Callisto tried to shove the two off her, but Tessa firmly stayed in place and the man didn't even appear to notice his surroundings, much less take a hint to move. Betsy was up then too. Obviously pissed off, Betsy lashed out and kicked the woman in the head. It took three kicks to fully knock her out, but it didn't look like Betsy was complaining.

Tessa pulled herself away from the heap as Betsy pulled a similar move against the man. Tessa massaged her ankle soothingly as she watched Betsy knock out him with her feet too. "Soccer fan?" Tessa asked wryly, raising an eyebrow. Betsy started to drag the unconscious mutants back into the cell, one by one, using only her good hand. "I guess they're right about Brits. You guys like to work with your feet, huh?"

Betsy fumbled around the first unconscious body of the man who'd entered the cell. She found what she was looking for shortly after and grabbed up the keys before slamming the cell door and locking them in. Tessa observed her shaking hand, the twisted fingers that were obviously broken, and the perspiration on her brow. "Hey, are you okay?" Tessa asked, dragging herself to her feet and wincing again as she put weight on her ankle.

"We need to go." Betsy breathed in heavily and blinked a few times as she looked at Tessa. "There could be more coming."

Tessa nodded, watching Betsy shuffle unsteadily down the hall that their attackers had come. Bracing herself for the pain, Tessa followed and breathed in sharply every time her ankle had to support weight. Nevertheless, they were on a time schedule and Tessa knew they'd never get this opportunity again, so she pushed forward without complaint. They reached the door that led to the cells and Betsy, cradling her hand in her good one, waited for Tessa to open it and peer out. The hallway beyond was empty and Tessa waved Betsy to follow her. "Let's go."

The two tramped down the right hallway for a ways before Tessa split off down a turn about halfway through. There was another door shortly up ahead and Tessa paused. "Betsy…your fingers…" she trailed off.

"I'm actually trying not to think about it." Betsy threw in sarcastically. "But thanks, Sherlock."

Tessa winced on Betsy's behalf. "They have to be bent back."

"I'm about to pass out, Tess. I don't think pushing me over the edge by re-twisting my broken fingers back into place is the best idea right now. Now go!"

"You'll have to hide your hand, then." Tessa told her. "There will be people beyond here and we have to look normal."

"Normal?" Betsy scoffed. "You're beaten half senseless, limping like an old woman with blood all over your head and in your hair and I'm back here nearly passing out with two obviously broken fingers and half-starved lungs! We look like we've just had a scuffle with Faith the frikin' vampire slayer!"

"Buffy." Tessa corrected, wiping her forehead self consciously to get away the blood Betsy spoke of. She could feel some that had crusted into her hair. Her palm came away red and sticky. "We can't draw attention to ourselves."

"We need a miracle."

"Or a lot of luck." Tessa shook her head. "Almost all of the residential rooms have secret exits somewhere in case of an emergency. They lead into a sort of basement area with a garage that we can drive out of. If we can get to a residential room, I'll try to remember where the possible exits are."

"Try to remember?" Betsy asked her doubtfully. "Don't you have a photographic memory?"

"I _did_." Tessa's eyebrows scrunched as she lifted a hand and lightly touched the metal collar around her neck. "It's gone now. I'm having trouble even remembering all the halls and passages right now."

"That's not what I like to hear." Betsy looked nervous. "Can you remember where the rooms are?"

Tessa nodded. "I just can't think of whose room is whose. We're gunna have to take a guess on that front. They're probably mostly all empty anyway, but…"

"If we choose the wrong one, we're screwed." Betsy pointed out bluntly.

"Pretty much."

"It sucks to be un-super, doesn't it?" Betsy's eyes were wistful and forlorn. "I miss my telepathy."

"I miss my memory." Tessa retorted sardonically. "And multi-tasking…how the hell do you people focus on two things at once? I could barely even think about pleasant things when walking on my ankle and fight at the same time—that's only two things!"

Betsy grinned wryly. "Now you see why people are pretty lazy about getting things done." She nodded towards the door. "We should go. There'll be an alarm pretty soon and we'll never get out after that."

Tessa agreed. "Brace yourself." Tessa took a deep breath and opened the door. Together, acting casual as Betsy cradled her hand and heads held low to hide their obvious scuffle signs, Tessa and Betsy made their way out into the hall. A few other mutants were shuffling down the hallway too, but none of them looked up at Betsy or Tessa for the time being. Praying quietly, Tessa led Betsy around the first corner as she speed-walked to their destination, inwardly wincing every time she stepped down but carefully hiding her pain and limp.

They made it around another bend before somebody looked at them curiously and frowned. Betsy smiled at the guy widely and flirtatiously winked before glancing back over at Tessa and scanning her up and down. The man licked his lips at the thought and carelessly walked straight into another mutant who was going the opposite way. Betsy and Tessa both scurried forward quickly as the man tumbled back.

They were ever nearing their destination. Tessa was starting to get hopeful that they would be able to escape. They'd just barely reached the halfway point to the dormitories before a freakily familiar voice echoed out along the high walls and Tessa froze, recognizing it instantly.

Shaw's body appeared at the end of the hallway they were approaching. He was speaking to a woman and gesturing, not yet looking down their way yet, but the woman was leaving and he'd be sure to glance up any second. Horrified, Tessa checked the distance of the hallway behind them and knew they'd never make it in time. There weren't any close doors that they could slip into either. Her panicked eyes rolled over to Betsy, who stood stock still and stared. She was petrified and reliving her fears as she watched Shade nod to the woman, his black eyes gleaming.

_No! We're too close!_ Knowing they couldn't escape down either passageway without drawing attention and being seen, Tessa did the only thing that came to her mind. Grabbing Betsy by the shoulders, she shoved the distinct purple haired woman into the wall. On tip toes because Tessa was considerably shorter than the girl, Tessa shoved Betsy's shoulders down to a shorter height and wrapped her arms around Betsy's neck. Cutting off Betsy's surprised and pained cry, Tessa mashed her lips upon the other girl's just as the woman with Shade departed and Shade glanced down the hallway at the noises he heard.

Smirking, his footsteps clicked closer as Betsy stilled under Tessa and realized what the other telepath was doing. Tessa kept her head in front of Betsy's face and tilted Betsy's head at an angle that would hide more of her behind Tessa's face. The footsteps were getting louder and Tessa held Betsy more firmly with her eyes tightly shut. Tessa could feel the fingers of Betsy's good hand digging into her shoulder painfully as Tessa pressed up close against her and squeezed her injured hand between their two bodies.

"That's hot." Shade complimented, strolling past the two girls and glancing over his shoulder at them. "Mmm…" Shade's dark eyes were filled with lust. He stared at the two of them all the way down the hallway over his shoulder. Betsy moaned as Tessa shifted slightly and jostled her fingers. Shade grinned lusciously. Giving them one last lustful look, he turned at the bend at the end of the hallway and disappeared.

Betsy immediately shoved Tessa back as Tessa also pulled out of her own accord. Wincing in pain, Betsy shot Tessa a dark look. "Just jump all over me, would ya?"

Tessa heaved in a gulp of air like it was water and shook her head. "_You_ weren't going to do anything. It was the only thing I could think of! Besides, I just saved both our lives!"

"I'm starting to notice a trend." Betsy pointed out. "Tessa gets in trouble: she kisses someone she shouldn't."

Tessa blushed terribly. "Could you be a little less grateful?!" Tessa gripped Betsy by the shoulder and started to drag her away down the hall again.

Betsy shook her hand off and strutted herself down the next-empty hallway, following Tessa. "I'm supposed to thank you for kissing me?" Betsy was clearly amused as Tessa turned a brighter shade of red. "Sorry I'm not a telepath at the moment. I didn't know you'd throw yourself all over me first chance you got."

Tessa looked appalled. "_I _wasn't the one using my nails or moaning!"

"Because of my hand!" Betsy protested.

"What's amatter?" Tessa asked in mock pity. "Can dish it out, but you can't take it?"

Tessa turned another bend and gripped Betsy's shoulder again. "We're here!"

"Stop touching me!" Betsy brushed off Tessa's hand and glanced down the long hallway of doors. "Which one do we pick?"

Tessa shrugged. "The rooms are all soundproof. It's a gamble whatever you choose."

"What're those scanners beside each door?" Betsy asked suspiciously.

"Well that's the other thing. I'm hoping my clearance hasn't been revoked yet. If so, I'll be able to access any of the rooms. If not…"

"Then I'm stuck with a lesbian in a dank cell." Betsy finished. "God help me."

"I'm _not_ a lesbian!" Tessa whispered to her furiously, coloring again as they made their way down to the first door. "I'm pregnant, remember? Obviously not a lesbian thing!"

"So a _moody_ lesbian. I should just let them off me if we're caught." Betsy smirked at Tessa's embarrassment. Honestly, the girl's quick thinking _had_ saved both of them. If Betsy hadn't been paralyzed with fear at seeing Shade, she might have done the same thing. But it didn't hurt to rattle Tessa's chains, either.

Tessa lowered her hand to the scanner, but paused an inch above the machine. "What is it?" Betsy asked, watching the girl chew her lower lip in hesitation. "What's wrong?"

"I…" Tessa wore a strained expression. "…I'm trying to remember my verification number." She finally admitted.

Betsy's jaw dropped incredulously. "You _forgot _your passcode?!"

"Gimme a break! It's forty digits long!" Tessa cried in frustration, counting in her head silently as she played the numbers through her mind.

"Forty digits?!" Betsy stared at her in disbelief. "You made your code forty digits?!"

"I was being cautious!" Tessa cried out defensively, closing her eyes and visualizing the number sequence as she pictured what each number stood for individually.

"Well you couldn't have chosen a better time to get short term memory loss, Tess." Betsy threw up her hands. "We're screwed."

Tessa was still counting silently in her head. "I can remember—just give me a minute." She clenched her fists. "God, this is so hard!"

"Imagine how unphotographic-memory people must function every day."

Tessa bit her tongue as she stressed her mind. "I think I've got the order down."

"How reassuring." Betsy gestured towards the hand scanner. "By all means, sentence us to our deaths already."

Flinching, Tessa raised her hand again and slowly put it into the scanner. She closed her eyes as the little electric thing took in her hand and verified her. She held her breath as the light blinked green after a second. Trying to settle herself down and stop her hands from shaking, Tessa pulled her hand away and leaned down to the pad again.

_First numbers: The day I met Joseph. _"29/4/03," _next: how many stars he individually named for me, _"85," _the year his little brother died. _"93," _how much he spent on our first date. _"43.7," _his football number, _"53," _how many roses he put into the apartment the day he proposed_ "956," _lucky numbers, give them twice: _"4747," _how I used to count when frustrated with him. _"456," _5 good reasons to quit his job, _"5," _how many children we planned to have, _"9," _the number of girls we wanted, _"8," _the number of years we promised to live to with each other_ "97," _the number of years I had with him _"5," _counting down the numbers in frustration _"543," _the day he died _"2/21," _the days of denial I went through _"45," _the last day of the week I ever saw you before they ripped you from me _"7."

There was a soft bleep as the machine processed the numbers and she heard Betsy hold her breath. A few seconds of absolute silence followed before the little red light switched over to the green one. "Verification accepted." A soft mechanical voice announced as the room's lock was disengaged.

"We're alive!" Betsy cried out happily, slapping Tessa on the back exuberantly as Tessa opened the door and let them in. She quickly shut it behind them and leaned against it with a sigh. Betsy poked her head around the room and nodded in satisfaction. "And it's empty. Great job, Tess! Now _that_ was impressive."

Tessa rubbed at her head tiredly. "Thanks." _I miss him. _"Let's find that exit now." Tessa directed, even though Betsy had already starting doing just that. Tessa knelt by the wall as she started examining the carpeted floor, wondering if the passage for this particular room was somewhere under the rug. Her thoughts distracted as she performed the task dutifully, Tessa's eyes misted with his memory. _Thanks for watching over me, Joseph. I'll always love you._ And somewhere out there, Tessa felt her fiancé was listening. _I will make you proud of me again._ That was her promise, both to Joseph and to herself.

-----

"**Correct me if I'm wrong," **Petra started cynically. "but aren't there supposed to be _children_ in here somewhere?"

"That was the assumption." Longshot finished checking the closet for any hiding miscreants. "Maybe they're taking a bathroom break." He suggested jokingly.

Petra was being more critical about their situation. "What're we supposed to do if they're not _here_! Nobody's here! Not even the kidnappers! Where the hell did everyone go?!"

"Whoa, baby! Calm down!" Longshot soothed. "If no one's here, that's good for us. It means they've already been rescued and the bad guys have moved on."

"It _means_ that we've wasted our time." Petra pointed out. "If everyone's already left the mansion, there was no use even coming!"

"Well," Longshot thought quickly. "Why don't we go question those two we knocked out? They can tell us what's up, right?"

Petra crossed her arms over her chest. "Fine. But if we don't find out anything interesting or worth doing, we're leaving. Agreed?"

Longshot bobbed his head. "Yeah, sure thing Petra." Together, the two mutants made their way downstairs again to the hallway that they had entered from. The black-eyed mutant had disappeared from his spot, but the other one was still unconscious up the other hallway. "Looks like that chop to the back of his neck worked nicely."

"The other one's gone." Petra said unnecessarily. "Coward."

Longshot knelt before the first guy he'd knocked out as Petra did the same on the man's other side. Longshot gently touched the man's shoulder, but the guy didn't wake. Carefully, Longshot shook the man softly to wake him. The man stayed unconscious.

"What're you being so gentle for?" Petra snapped. "Just hit him already!"

Longshot glanced up at his girlfriend and smiled lightly. Unwilling to take the time to argue with her at this moment, Longshot lifted his other hand and smacked the man across the cheek.

"Aik!" The man screeched as his eyes shot open in surprise. They both had about a half a second to register his wakefulness before he disappeared entirely, taking Longshot with him.

Petra squeaked and stood, glancing around anxiously. "Longshot?" She called out. No one answered her. "Longshot?" Her voice rising, she was getting more desperate. "Dammit, boy, where'd you go?! Come back, Longshot!" Silence answered her pleas. Petra bit down on her tongue and gripped the corner of the wall. "Baby, please come back…"

Nobody answered her. Petra was alone.


	46. The Great Escape

"**Tess, you said these rooms are soundproof, right?"** Betsy asked, carefully searching under the bed.

Tessa was ripping up some carpet from the corner outward elsewhere. She nodded deftly. "Mhmm."

"In that case, I need your help." Betsy winced, drawing away from the bed. Tessa glanced back over her shoulder and flinched as she realized what Betsy needed help with. "I can't do it myself. Please."

Tessa stood and turned to face her. "Betsy's saying please? What a disquieting change." She strode up to Betsy and grabbed the blanket off the bed and handed it to Betsy. "Put that in your mouth. You don't want to bite your tongue off."

Betsy did so without comment and gritted her teeth. Closing her eyes, she turned her head away and held up her hand for Tessa. The two bent back middle fingers were still at unnatural angles and obviously not going to heal right that way. Tessa frowned in sympathy before carefully wrapping her hand around both appendages. "Ready?" Betsy nodded at her, still looking away. "3, 2—" Tessa pulled down on Betsy's fingers with a hard jerk and loud cracking filled the air as Betsy screamed and tumbled back. Tessa released her grip immediately and let Betsy stumble back to land on the bed with a soft _flump_.

Betsy was breathing raggedy as she stared at her twice-bent digits and cradling her hand. The blanket had dropped to the floor when Betsy opened her mouth to scream. _I'm not gunna cry. Not gunna cry. Crying is for babies. _Betsy fought to hold the tears in. "Are you alright?" Tessa asked cautiously, approaching slowly and kneeling at the bedside. She seemed to notice what Betsy was doing and trying to hold back. Tessa lifted a hand and snapped her fingers in front of Betsy's face, making Betsy flinch and wince back. A couple tears fell. _Dammit! _

There was a small pop suddenly. Tessa looked down at Betsy's fingers in shock and surprise, but Betsy was looking over Tessa's shoulder.

Two mutants had joined the room. One jumped back in surprise, a guy with only three fingers and a thumb with floppy blond hair. The other dark haired mutant was instantly recognizable to Tessa. "Porter!" She blurted in surprise.

Porter turned and looked at her in surprise. "Tessa?" The blond haired mutant shook his head and kicked Porter in the back of his neck. Porter's eyes rolled up and he collapsed down to the floor.

"That's two for two on you!" The blond mutant held up his fists defensively. "Who's next? Where'd you take me?" He glanced around himself as if he just noticed something else. "Hey! Where's Petra?!"

"Longshot?" Betsy uttered, completely bewildered.

Longshot's head zipped up as he came closer and looked over Tessa's shoulder. "Betsy!" Longshot made to jump at her, but Tessa, alarmed, grabbed him around the middle mid-air and brought him back down.

"Oh, no you don't!"

Longshot looked between them and abruptly remembered how they'd been when he popped in, with the one girl kneeling before Betsy and Betsy crying. His eyes widened. "Oh! Oh! Betsy! You-you're engaged!"

"What?" Betsy snapped. "No I'm not!" Betsy scrubbed at her eyes to erase the tears that Tessa had made fall.

"It's okay." Longshot assured her, looking at Tessa. "I won't tell anyone. She's a very pretty girl, you're lucky."

Tessa reeled back as she caught his meaning. "It's not like that! I didn't _want_ to kiss her! There was nothing else I could do! I'm _not _a lesbian!" She cried out, frustrated.

"Shhh." Longshot shushed them both. "It's really okay, both of you. I promise not to tell."

"Betsy, who is this joker?" Tessa asked in frustration, running a hand through her hair.

"The name's Longshot." Longshot introduced himself.

"I met him a few years ago." Betsy explained. "We were…friends."

"See?" Longshot pointed out, winking. "Betsy's ashamed of me too. Don't feel bad."

"You _dated_ him?" Tessa asked incredulously, unable to picture Betsy dating anyone.

"She had a different body then."

"Longshot, what are you doing here?" Betsy interrupted the conversation, in no such mood to share her past relationships. "Are you…part of the Mutant Champions?"

"No way!" Longshot gestured to the unconscious mutant on the ground. "He accidentally brought me here when Petra and I went to pump him for information."

"This is Porter's room." Tessa informed them.

"Sure, _now_ you remember."

Longshot glanced around. "Well, Betsy, I'd love to catch up, but I've gotta go find Petra. We'll catch up later, huh?" He made to go for the door.

"No!" Betsy and Tessa protested together. Tessa rushed forward and grabbed his arm.

"You can't leave."

Longshot arched an eyebrow and Betsy went about explaining. "We're in the middle of the enemy's fortress." She told him. "Tessa and I just both escaped. You can't let them know where you are. Besides, you'll never get out of here without access to the codes or clearance for leaving."

Longshot shrugged. "I'm lucky, I can do it."

"Not that lucky." Betsy shook her head. "Tessa and I are searching the room for a hidden exit. You should come with us."

"What?" Tessa protested. "What if he—"

"He's not a bad guy, Tess." Betsy told her firmly. "And he _is_ lucky—that's his mutation. He can help us."

"I won't steal her away, promise." Longshot winked at her. "I've got my own girl now."

Tessa sighed deeply. "Well, if you're staying, stop making innuendos about me and Betsy. We're _not_ a couple."

"Riiight." Longshot nodded to them both. "If it's okay with you's, I'mma go take a wizz." He disappeared into the adjoining bathroom and shut the door behind him.

Tessa gave Betsy a look. "Don't say anything." Betsy warned her.

"Who's saying anything?" Tessa grinned ruefully. "You're romantic choices are just interesting…"

"Tessssa..." Betsy warned again.

"It's funny how fast he accepted the fact that you'd gone gay, isn't it? For a previous lover, you might think he'd have trouble believing it, but nope!"

"Because you look like a dyke!" Betsy shot back.

"Excuse me?" Tessa held her hands to her hips and gave Betsy a knowing look. "This comes from the woman with purple hair again? Talk about exotic."

A blaring alarm suddenly rang throughout the building. "Looks like we've been detected missing." Betsy pointed out dully.

"I thought you said he was lucky!" Tessa cried out, panicking as she returned to her carpet.

"He is!"

"Apparently not!" Tessa furiously ripped up at the carpet.

"Uhh, guys?" Longshot's voice drifting in from the bathroom. "I think I found the passage."

Betsy gave her a smug look as she went for the bathroom. Tessa skittered up and zipped after her. In the bathroom, Longshot was pulling up tiles off the floor and revealing a board platform on the ground. "How'd you find this?" Tessa asked suspiciously, listening to the alarm with concern.

"I was washing my hands and I spilled some soap." Longshot explained. "When I went to go wipe it up, a few tiles were loose so I removed some of them and wha-la!"

"I'd like to see you get so lucky." Betsy smirked at her.

"I remembered a forty digit code!" Tessa pointed out again.

When enough tiles had been cleared away, Longshot pried his fingers under the board and lifted it. A long, dark stone staircase led downward. There was an explosion from the other room. "They've found us!" Tessa cried desperately. "Let's go!"

The three of them rushed down the staircase as sounds of their pursuers echoed up from above. Betsy tripped once and nearly fell down the rest of the steps, but Longshot caught her. It was deathly dark down there.

"Check the bathroom!"

Sweating with fear, Tessa surged forward quickly, taking the steps three at a time. Her twisted ankle roared in protest to each step, but Tessa did her best to ignore it. They reached the bottom platform and a row of lights triggered on upon their entrance as the voices behind them grew and echoed along the stone walls as they hurried down the stairs themselves.

Tessa rushed up to the third car in the second row and motioned everyone to get in. It was a green, two-door Toyota Avalon. The car was unlocked, luckily, but there were no keys in the ignition. Longshot climbed into the back through Betsy's passenger door and Tessa climbed into the driver's seat. "Everyone, get down!" Tessa ordered silently, dropping her head from the window's view as she bent her head below the wheel and started to remove the plastic plating there.

"You know how to hotwire a car?" Betsy asked incredulously. "Where'd you pick up that skill?"

_Joseph showed me._ "Shhh!" Tessa ordered, going through the wires in her mind. "I'm trying to concentrate!"

"Don't tell me you forgot how to do this too!" Betsy groaned. "Didn't you remember _anything_ not-through your mutation?"

"There was hardly any need to, was there?!" Tessa snapped, angrily throwing down the plastic covering.

"Fan out and find them!" A loud voice ordered. Tessa bit down on her tongue hard at the noise and worked furiously to find the cords she was looking for. She ripped one and twisted it apart before touching it against another cautiously. An electrical burning passed through her fingers. Tessa jerked up and dropped the two wires, banging her head against the underside of the wheel as she burned her fingers.

"Aikk!" Tessa sucked on her tender fingers.

"Hurry up!" Betsy urged frantically.

"Well it wasn't that one." Longshot pointed out, sprawled across the backseat. Tessa went back to work.

A man on Betsy's side stopped and sniffed the air before turning and looking directly through their window, down at the crouching Betsy. He opened his mouth to raise the alarm. Quickly, Betsy used her good hand and swung open her side door into the man's gut. He grunted and slammed back into the car next to him, instantly alerting everybody to the loud noise.

"Shit!" Tessa cussed, redoubling her efforts at the sound of Betsy's slamming door.

"They're coming!" Longshot yelled, peaking out the back windshield.

"Got it!" Tessa twisted the two open wires together as a fist went through Betsy's window and a hand grabbed her by the hair.

"GO!" Betsy cried desperately.

Tessa shifted it into the D gear and slammed on the gas. The car jerked forward—and crashed right into the car in front of them.

"Reverse, you idiot!" Betsy shouted as the man yanked her halfway out of the broken window by her hair. Longshot grabbed hold of her wrist of her broken-fingered hand as Betsy grabbed onto a jagged piece of glass that was still attached to the window. The glass cut into her palm as the man tugged her out.

Panicking, Tessa shifted the gear into reverse and slammed on the gas again. They shot backwards like a bullet and hit several bodies that failed to get out of the way in time. Betsy captor lost his grip on her silky hair and pulled a few strands out as they shot back. Screeching, Betsy pulled back in through the window and gasped at her palm.

"Here!" Longshot ripped part of his shirt off with his teeth and gestured for Betsy's hand.

Tessa backed out of the spot and turned the wheel the wrong way so that, instead of facing the exit, they faced the passage they'd just escaped from. "What're you doing?!" Betsy barked. Tessa frantically straightened the wheel and slammed on the petal again, shooting them backwards towards the exit. Betsy was pitched forward at the jerk and only Longshot's quick reflexes saved her from jerking into the windshield.

"I'm sorry!" Tessa squeaked. "I've never driven before!"

"You don't know how to drive?!" Betsy's voice was thunderous with disbelief. "You can hotwire a car but you can't _drive_?!"

"I've never _needed _to! I'm a teleporter!" The car bumped forward as an incline started up behind them. Up and out of the garage. There were still mutants who were chasing after them. The reached a relatively clear stretch of road. "Hang on!" Tessa turned the wheel sharply and pulled it all the way to the left. Clutching the seat desperately with her arm, Betsy clung for dear life. Tessa closed her eyes as the car swung around and she was tossed up against the wheel.

"OPEN YOUR EYES!" Betsy ordered harshly, grabbing the gear shift and shoving it into drive. Tessa gripped the wheel tightly as her eyes shot open and she righted the steering wheel. There was a loud _thump_ as something heavy landed on the roof of their car. "DRIVE!" Betsy yelled. Tessa stepped on the gas again as another body thumped onto the trunk. The car lurched forward and pitched them all back as Tessa drove over the curb before jerking the wheel back and bringing them back onto the road. One body flew off the trunk, but the one on top of the car stayed firmly in place.

"My ankle!" Tessa cried, looking stressed.

Betsy glanced down and rolled her eyes. "You don't drive with two feet, Tess!"

Above them, there was a loud sound of metal screeching as fingers appeared _through_ the roof. "Toss him off, Tess!" Betsy commanded. "Move the wheel from side to side!" Longshot wrapped Betsy's hand and was tucking in the leftovers.

"I can't focus on all these things at once!" Tessa cried haplessly. She tried to jiggle the car back and forth, but as she did so, her foot pushed down harder and they picked up speed.

"Okay, stop that!" Betsy watched the speed dial with growing alarm. They were going seventy. "Everyone, seatbelts!" Betsy reached over Tessa to do the job for the girl and Tessa jumped as the car bumped over the curb again before falling back down. More metal screeched from above them as the man struggled to pull off the roof of the car. "When I tell you—" Betsy winced as the seatbelt bit into her palm as she fastened Tessa's belt. "You hit the breaks like your life depends on it. Okay?" Tessa mewled. "Okay?!"

"Okay!"

"You fastened in?" Betsy asked Longshot, securing her own. Longshot nodded. Metal ripped apart from the top as the man peeled back the flimsy roof. "NOW!" Betsy ordered.

Going 120 now, Tessa lifted both feet and jammed them against the breaks. The car screeched in protest as Tessa cut off its momentum and jerked abruptly as it keeled. The man on the roof was flung forward, as were all the car participants. Betsy's seat belt cut into her chest and made her gasp for breath as Tessa banged her head against the wheel and was abruptly snapped back as her seatbelt locked into place. _So much for that livesaver._ Betsy thought wryly, observing Tessa's eyes roll back into her head as the girl passed out. She slumped in the seat limply.

"Longshot?" Betsy asked, getting her raspy breath back. "You there?"

"I'm here." Longshot slumped back into his seat. "I'm okay." He shook his head, clearing it. "Your girlfriend passed out."

Betsy observed Tessa's slumped form. There was a cut that had opened up on her forehead and she was still bruised up from their scuffle before and the one with the other guy, but other than that, Tessa looked fine. "She'll be fine." Betsy closed her eyes and laid her head back against the seat. "And no, Longshot. She's _not_ my girlfriend."

"Uh-huh."

In no mood to argue with him, Betsy asked. "Can you drive? My hands are a little tied and I'd rather not wake Tessa simply to risk our lives again."

Longshot nodded. "I agree with you on that. Girl pushes her luck even further than _I_ would." Longshot leaned forward and unbuckled Tessa's seatbelt. After pulling it off her, he reached up under Tessa's arms and hauled the girl back.

"Need any help?" Betsy asked tiredly, still keeping her eyes closed.

"I got it. She's light." Longshot dragged Tessa into the back and laid her up against the seat behind the driver. Tessa didn't even stir. Longshot then climbed over the middle seat and situated himself in driver's before starting off.

"I've gotta go to the X-Mansion to get Petra." He told Betsy. "Is that alright?"

Betsy was already starting to drift off. "Uh-huh."

Longshot patted her shoulder reassuringly as he drove away in the busted car. "Congratulations, Betsy. You're free!"

Betsy sighed quietly before her breath started coming out in even intervals, telling Longshot that she'd fallen asleep. Longshot smiled as he drove down the road. "That was quite an adventure." He thought of Petra, then, and hoped she wasn't lonely or sad. _I'm coming, baby! _The car zipped down the empty road.

-----

"**You **_**LOST **_**them?!" **Rogue was furious. "How hard is it to keep your hands on two _locked up, depowered_ mutants?! Ah was gone fohr an hour!"

"It was four hours here."

"It coulda been four days and this shouldn't have happened! If you were any less important, Ah would have you killed fohr this Emma!" Rogue fumed. "Where are they?!"

"We don't know." Emma's expression was steely. "They're both unconscious. They had help from the outside."

"Ah don't care if God himself stepped in ta help them!" Rogue shouted, enraged. "Ya _lost_ two dangerous telepaths who know delicate information who could potentially screw up the whole operation!"

A muscle in Emma's jaw ticked. "With all due respect, Rogue. I hardly would consider them a threat."

"Yeah, well that's why you're not the boss, isn't it?" Rogue pointed out icily. "You're careless! This is an unforgivable fluke!"

"We'll find them when they wake up." Emma only just stopped herself from strangling the annoying little girl. It was taking all her willpower not to snap Rogue's mental synapses as they spoke. "As for now, we have more important things to concern ourselves with."

"Where are the X-Men?" Rogue asked irritably.

"Nearing the mansion as we speak." Emma informed her. She eyed the unconscious mutants Rogue had dropped behind her. "Do you require…assistance?"

"No!" Rogue snapped. "Just set off the raids already. _Ah_ alone will go fetch the other X-Men and third-party members. Is Ororo still at the mansion?"

"No." Emma replied coldly. "I've brought her and the rest of the X-Men here for safekeeping while the raids go on."

Rogue looked like she wanted to say something nasty, but she resisted the urge. Instead, she conveyed her expectations. "Ah expect the raids ta be off an' Ororo ta be ready bah the tahme Ah get back. The rest of our government officials are all set, Ah'm assuming, so after this goes down, we'll start makin' the laws."

Rogue disappeared in a puff of smoke. Emma's eyes narrowed hatefully. _Someone come get these mutant scum and lock them up. _Emma projected the thought. _Someone who's not an idiot and lets unarmed, depowered mutants escape, please. _The last thought was purely for Callisto's benefit, as Emma blamed the orchestrated escape on her.

Clicking her tongue resentfully and glaring at the little smoke puff that disappeared slowly into the air, Emma stalked off back to her room. She linked herself to all the other telepaths at all the different Mutant Champion bases across the States and told them to set off the raids and provoke their contacts within the Friends. She wouldn't have to deal with that annoying little brat Rogue much longer. The thought made her smile.


	47. All Coming Together

_**A/N: ...hello everybody! Long time no see, huh? *ducks and hides* I Knoww! I'm sorry! It probably means nothing now, with how often I play disappearing acts (and I'll probably play several more before we're through), but -at least I'm not like, Deleting the fic, yaknow? Okay, okay, well here we are. Everything is on the bridge of exploding and we're all coming together for a finale! BUT, it's not the end. In fact, I'm not even sure we're near that part lol, so yes, you'll just have to bear with me as I slowly make our way through the fic. I'm hoping that makes at least some of us happy, right? More reading!...Right, okay. Quiet time now. Go on and read what I've delayed forever, I understand. I hope you enjoy it still, no matter how late she is in coming.**_

_**-----  
**_

**Wanda sat bolt upright and ripped the covers off. **Her mind was a foggy mess and it was hard to even think straight, but she'd had had enough of sleeping. Pietro was by her side in an instant and pushing down against her shoulders, gently but firm. "Lay down, Wanda. You're not well."

"Well enough to kick your ass, Pietro." Wanda snapped, pushing at his arms to release her. Pietro held firm. "Let go of me!" Wanda demanded.

"No." Pietro rejected, pushing back on her shoulders again. Wanda's back clunked back down against the bed and her head fell into the pillow. The world swam and blurred before her eyes for a minute before readjusting. "You're sick, Wanda." Pietro laid the back of his hand against her forehead. "You're still burning up and delusional from the drugs they pumped into you."

"I'm fine!" Wanda insisted, even though that wasn't altogether true. She felt unnaturally heavy and weighted down, especially under Pietro's firm grip. Escaping from her brother shouldn't be this hard. Wanda scrubbed at her eyes with her palm and felt that what Pietro said was true. She _was_ burning up. Still, that didn't stop her. Wanda fruitlessly tried to push Pietro's restraining hands away. "Unhand me, Pietro!"

Wanda's struggles under his grip were feather-light, showing just how weakened she really was. She didn't even seem to notice. "Where you gunna go?" Pietro asked her, knowing how stubborn Wanda was and that she wouldn't quit until she reached exhaustion. "What's so important that you _have_ to leave this instant?"

Wanda stilled under him then and her eyes searched the room before falling back on Pietro. "I just…I feel that I'm needed somewhere."

Pietro raised his eyebrows at her. "And you're arguing that you're not still high off the drugs?"

Wanda glared at him. "This isn't a joke, Pietro! I'm needed!"

"What you _need_ is to go back to sleep." Pietro gently shook her shoulder. "I'll even make you something to eat after you've gone to bed again. You must be starving after simply being iv-fed for so long."

The thought of food sent another wistful ache through Wanda's softly-growling stomach. "I don't want food!" Wanda argued. Her stomach rumbled loudly in protest and Wanda winced at the knowing look Pietro gave her. "Listen-Pietro. I feel—and I _know_ that I have to be somewhere right now."

Pietro gave her a doubtful look. "Wanda, even if this 'feeling' of yours is something more than the drugs they pumped into you, you're desire to be _somewhere_ isn't very specific."

Wanda sighed in frustration and held her hand to her head again. "I don't remember much of anything." She finally confessed. "What happened, Pietro? Maybe something you say will help me realize where I gotta be." Pietro was hesitant. Unwilling to urge this delusion on and not quite sure it was the right time to tell Wanda about Erik, he didn't want to be in this uncomfortable situation. "Pietro?" Wanda prompted, frowning as he sort of zoned out on her. "Pietro, tell me."

"I…" Pietro trailed off. Looking hopelessly uncomfortable, he swallowed thickly and patted her shoulder. "Wanda, stay here. I'm going to make you something to eat."

"Pietro!" Wanda called out, but the boy zipped away into the other room without a backwards glance. Frustrated, Wanda braced herself up on the back of her arms and flinched at how much effort it took to keep her up like that. Wanda groaned softly as she pulled herself up into a sitting position again.

Pietro was taking exceptionally long in the kitchen if Wanda could pull herself up so far without him returning and pushing her back down. Suspicious that his slow actions were on purpose, Wanda tossed her feet over the edge of the bed. Helping herself by putting weight onto her arms, Wanda groaned audibly as she tried to push herself to her legs.

Her sleepy legs were rubbery and tingling all over. Sweating with the strain, Wanda used the nearby desk to help brace herself to her feet. Wanda breathed heavily and raggedly as nearly all her weight was pressed into her arms for holding herself up. Unable to hold that because of how lethargic and heavy she felt, Wanda's arms wavered and finally gave up under the strain. All her weight fell onto her legs and, weak and feeble as she was at the moment, it was too much to support. Wanda crumpled to the ground in a heap. She groaned loudly and tried to let her breathing regulate from her position on the ground.

Pietro was there in another instant, perhaps hearing her. Yelping at seeing Wanda on the ground, he effortlessly scooped her up into his arms and lay her exhausted body back onto the bed. "I told you not to move." He reprimanded her.

"I feel like a ton of bricks." Wanda moaned, shutting her eyes. "What's wrong with me? Why can't I support myself?"

"It probably has something to do with lying unconscious, doing nothing for such a long time." Pietro pointed out. "Your muscles wore down. It'll take some time to get everything back moving again." Pietro patted her shoulder again. "I'll be right back—Don't move this time."

He zipped away again and Wanda heaved out a heavy sigh as she tried to move herself up the pillow further. The strain of such a simple act was incredible and Wanda was breathing deeply again in seconds. "This is ridiculous." Wanda mumbled softly, beyond frustrated with the limitations her body was giving her. "I wasn't unconscious _that_ long, was I?"

Pietro reappeared back in the room, balancing a bowl in his hands and a small plate in the other with food and a glass of water on it. Wanda's stomach turned again at the aroma of food and Pietro smirked at the sounds as he sat down in the middle of the bed. He put the plate down on the nightstand and stirred the bowl softly. Helping Wanda sit up by bracing her against the wall, Pietro scooped out a spoonful of the chicken noodle soup and held it up for Wanda.

"You are _not_ spoon feeding me." Wanda lifted her arm, ignoring the strain, to grab Pietro's hand and take the spoon, but Pietro moved his arm back and held it out of reach.

"Nuh-uh-uhh!" Pietro nodded to her arm. "Stop stressing yourself, Wanda." When Wanda didn't drop her arm, Pietro reached out with his other hand and lowered it himself. Wanda couldn't find the strength within her to fight him.

"I'm not a little victim!" Wanda protested, glaring stubbornly.

Pietro gave her a patronizing smile. "Open wide, the train's coming! Vroom, vroom!" He moved the spoon tauntingly through the air. Wanda's eyes followed its progress hungrily and her stomach flipped in anticipation, but she was still resentful that Pietro had this obvious advantage over her.

"Pietro—" Wanda began warningly, but Pietro just grinned and shook it off.

"Choo-choo! Chuga-chuga, chuga-chuga, choo-choo!" He stopped just before her scowling lips. "Open the train tunnel!"

"I'm gunna kill—" Wanda didn't have time to get the rest of the words out before Pietro stuck the offending spoon in her mouth. Against her will, Wanda closed her eyes in bliss as the hot soup touched her tongue and left its savory taste in her mouth, even after the liquid had been swallowed. It felt like she'd never tasted anything so wonderful in her life.

Pietro grinned as he pulled the spoon out of her mouth and she followed it slightly before her eyes popped open. Torn between looking at the beautiful soup bowl and Pietro's arrogant smirk, Wanda chose to glare at Pietro. "If you _ever_ tell _anyone_ about this—"

"Shush, Wanda." Pietro chuckled as her gaze revisited his hand where he was getting another spoonful for her. "Just allow yourself to be pampered for once, huh?" Pietro cut off the protest that was sure to follow by bringing the spoon up to her lips again. Wanda hungrily allowed Pietro to spoon-feed her again as her belly grumbled for more. Pietro smiled lightly as, despite Wanda's protests and stubbornness, he continued to feed her the soup as her body rebuked her desire to growl and pout instead. "I finally found a way to shut you up." Pietro's smile took the sting out of the words.

Wanda glared at him stubbornly. It was a few minutes later that she finally spoke again. "What happened to me, Pietro?"

Sighing heavily, Pietro handed over the soup bowl and balanced it on her lap as Wanda took the spoon from him and fed herself. "What do you last remember, Wanda?"

"I know I died." Wanda broke that for him, wondering if that's where his hesitation came from. "I remember talking to Rogue before she told them to bring me back." Wanda glanced down at herself speculatively. "I can't believe I'm okay…incredibly feeble and inadequate, but alive…"

Pietro smiled grimly as he ran a hand through his slicked back white hair. "You're not the only one having trouble coming to terms with this all."

Wanda frowned, looking up from her nearly-empty soup bowl; she swallowed down the liquid thickly. "Have you been alright, Pietro?" Wanda asked, her tone softer.

Pietro hesitated before responding. "I've been okay." He finally said.

"Pietro." Wanda gave him a condescending look along with her tone. "You've followed me all my life, Pietro. You saw my dead body mutilated," Pietro flinched. "You don't have to lie to me."

Pietro rubbed his arms as if he'd suddenly caught a chill. "It's just…it's been so crazy lately. It's like you said Wanda, I saw you. It's just…I'm so happy you're back, I am, I just…"

"It's weird." Wanda finished, pushing away the nearly empty soup bowl and grabbing at the toast off the plate. She picked it apart slowly. "I was dead for over a day. It's…unnatural. I'm an anomaly."

"Don't say that." Pietro put a hand on her shoulder firmly and Wanda jumped as she raised her head to look at him. "You're not a freak, Wanda."

Wanda chuckled softly, her gaze returning down. She was quiet for a minute before she lifted her eyes again. "Pietro, how's Erik?" It was Pietro's turn to break eye contact. He turned his head down and away as a somber expression graced his features. "Pietro?" Wanda probed, reaching out and touching Pietro's shoulder. She gently shook his shoulder lightly. "Pietro, what is it?" Pietro remained silent.

Wanda's expression fell as she drew back suddenly, true despair coloring her features. "No—he didn't…he…" Wanda choked on the reality of it all. "He's back, isn't he? Magneto's back."

"No!" Pietro looked back up suddenly at Wanda's tightened, despairing features. "He didn't revert back!" Wanda glanced back up at him, her eyes searching for confirmation. "He stayed on our side till the end."

It took half a second to register, but Wanda's eyes suddenly widened. "Till the end?" She gave Pietro a desperate, pleading look. "Erik—he—he—" Pietro gripped her hand tightly. Wanda gaped for a few seconds as tears came to her eyes and she paled.

"Wanda—Wanda, it's okay. You're okay." Pietro leaned forward and hugged Wanda close. "It's gunna be okay."

Wanda closed her eyes and cried. She was too exhausted for all this. Pietro held her, rocked her, as Wanda bit down hard on her lower lip. _Erik is dead._ She couldn't count the times she'd dreamed of it happening. She'd _wanted_ it to happen for so long. But now, after Rogue had taken her to him…

Wanda's body uncontrollably trembled in Pietro's arms as he tried to comfort her. It wasn't fair. It was with those tears streaming down her cheeks and her quietly shaking frame that Wanda realized she had forgiven him. It took her until his death to realize it and now, she could never tell him that.

Wanda had longed for just a normal family when she was a little girl. Erik had provided that for a short while and they'd all enjoyed it while her mother was still alive, but after…Erik had undeniably changed. Wanda was sure that was the sole reason for his change. The others, like the concentration camps and everything else that made him into a person, were just back-up reinforcers that eventually shaped him. But Erik had been a good man until his wife died.

Wanda had been a little girl until that day in the woods. It was that sole event that had hardened her and made her grow up. It made her untrusting and hateful.

Both had one big event that shaped their lives and broke them apart forever. Wanda never truly believed she'd be able to forgive Erik, no matter how much he pled with her. But now…

Wanda let Pietro hold her.

It had taken Wanda all the way to Erik's death to realize she'd truly forgiven him and let him touch her. She wouldn't make the same mistake with Pietro.

-----

"**Mah feet hurt." **Gracie complained loudly, purposefully dragging her feet as they went.

"We're almost there." Logan grunted irritably.

"Yah said that an hour ago!" Gracie whined. "An' we're _still_ walkin'!"

"We should be there in less than five minutes now." Kitty soothed. "We're almost upon the mansion. See—you can even see it. It's that big white mansion against the backdrop of the trees. It won't be much longer, Gracie."

"We shouldn't even be here!" Gracie blew up, coming to a stop and stubbornly holding her stance. "

"'Ah won't be any trouble.'" Mystique mimicked again sarcastically.

"Don't y'all care about Marie?!" Gracie asked desperately. "She needs our help an' we're walkin' _away_ from her!"

"We have to help our friends." Kitty tried to convince her. "Rogue knows what's she's doing. She wouldn't have sent us away if she didn't have a handle on things. We just need to help the mansion first. We'll go back for her."

Gracie was still being stubborn. Wanting someone on her side, she desperately beseeched. "Remy?"

"Remy agrees wit' y' _petite_, but Rogue _chere_ sent us away. She not be happy if we come back an' dis mansion is still under duress."

"Who _cares_ if she'll be happy or not?! Do y'all know Marie at all?! She doesn't ask fohr help when she needs it! She-ahhghiyiee!" Gracie was about to go on, but a familiar searing pain tore through her mind as fire roared through her head. Gracie clutched her head in pain and dropped to her knees as her legs gave out.

Pictures and images flashed before her closed eyes.

_A large, beautiful statue of an angel loomed down under her. Its arms were held up high and with her wings spread out far, it looked like the angel was reaching up to the floating girl above the fountain…_

_A red-haired woman appeared out of nowhere with a white-haired boy companion. Gracie recognized her immediately. Gracie froze in absolute terror…_

_Marie cast her hands out an a shock of electricity flowed through her fingers and electrified her poor victim as, even the ability to scream was robbed from the poor soul before she crumpled to the ground…_

_Gracie herself crumpled to the ground in a heap…_

_The red-haired, fair woman cast out her hand weakly and shivered. Marie was caught in a red blast and screamed as she began to fall…_

_Marie lay still, not breathing, face down and clearly dead. The red-haired woman weakly tried to drag herself up to mutilate her dead body. Fire burned in her cold, fire-red eyes._

_-----  
_

"**Gracie, are you okay?!"** Kitty asked, her tone worried and scared as she gripped the shaking girl tightly.

Mystique was looking extremely annoyed. "We don't have time for this."

Gracie moaned softly and rubbed her aching head. "Sohrae." She mumbled, feeling a spike of fear at the vision. It wasn't the first time she'd had it and it made her cold all over. Remy frowned as he knelt beside Kitty and held out his arms for her to pass Gracie over.

"Remy'll carry her." He offered. Gracie shivered with cold and a bit of fright as Kitty handed her over. Remy effortlessly lifted her bridal-style into his arms and stood. He nodded. "It's only a short way. Let's go." They began walking again and Remy gave her half a minute to gather herself before speaking again, low and soft so he wouldn't be overheard. "_Petite, _y' okay?"

Gracie shied away and kept her eyes down, locked upon her knees. Remy gave her a sympathetic expression. "It was de same vision again, wasn't it?" Gracie was silent. Remy jiggled her a little in his grasp. "Come on, _petite._ 'M not de bad guy—Remy's gunna held y' sister."

It took Gracie half a moment before she finally got up the courage to respond. "We were ahl there." She finally admitted softly. "We were ahl there and we _still_ couldn't stop her." Her eyes hardened hatefully as she finally lifted her gaze to Remy's. "We have ta find her—the red-haired woman. We have ta-ta-" she faltered. "She can't _ever _see Rogue again! She'll kill her!"

"Y' talkin' 'bout Wanda?" Remy clarified. Gracie's vision just didn't make any sense. What reason could Wanda have to kill Rogue? Rogue had brought Wanda back. She was alive because Rogue had made it so. It didn't make sense that Wanda would want to kill her. Not to mention, Wanda wasn't even in the picture anymore. Pietro had run off with her.

"Your red-hairedskank, yes." Gracie's tone was hateful.

"Hey." Remy prodded her arm to bring her eyes back up to him. "Wanda's not Remy's _skank_, _petite_. Remy's taken wit' Roguey. Okay?"

"Her name is _Marie_." Gracie persisted petulantly, crossing her arms stubbornly. "And she's not yahrs."

Remy smiled lightheartedly at this little girl's protective tendencies to her sister. "Y' vision says differently, _non_?" Remy joked, provoking her.

Gracie burned red in embarrassment and anger. "Mah _visions_ cahn be wrong! That one is obviously a fluke!"

"Won't y' tell Remy what y' saw?" Remy continued, pressing his luck. "Come on, _petite, petite,_ y' know y' startin' t' like me too. 'M jus' dat charmin'."

Gracie scoffed. "Not at all! Yah better watch yaself around her, ya dirty thief!"

Remy chuckled. "Y' sound jus' like her now."

Gracie was obviously frustrated that he wasn't taking her warning seriously. "Ah'm gunna tell _Logan_ what Ah saw in a minute!"

"Whoa, _petite, _let's not jump t' hasty decisions, _heh_?" Remy nodded forward in front of them. "We're here, _petite._ We be able t' go back fo' _Marie_ in'a minute." He gently set down her legs to the ground, but kept an arm braced up under her arms. "Can y' stand?"

Gracie finally lifted her gaze away from him as Remy put her on her feet. At the very first sight her eyes landed upon, all strength left her and her legs gave out from under her. Remy caught her with a "whoaaa," before she hit the ground, but Gracie was feeling faint anyway. "_Petite_?" Remy prodded. He snapped his fingers in front of her eyes to no avail. Gracie's gaze remained trapped on the object in front of her.

Remy followed her gaze and frowned at the fountain with the angel statue in the middle, not understanding. "What is it, _petite? _What's wrong?"

Gracie's eyes shot from the statue to all her companions and her body began to uncontrollably shake. "It's here." Gracie whispered, not able to find her breath fully. "Marie is going to die here—and it's already happening_. We're too late."_

_-----  
_

_**Tessa clasped her fingers tightly around the hand that held them. **__She lifted her shy eyes up, trying to peer at the handsome man she was leaning against on the sand. She turned her head slightly to get a fuller look at him and her heart warmed within her chest at the sight of his beautiful features. "Joseph."_

"_Hey, Tessa." His mouth crinkled just so as he said her name. His smile was only for her. His floppy, uncooperative blonde hair ruffled with the warm breeze and his light, crystal blue eyes shone down at her happily. He was the most beautiful, happiest sight that Tessa had ever laid eyes on. _

_Joseph ran his thumb across Tessa's hand in little circles that made her skin tingle and turned her to goo inside. He tilted his head sideways at her so that she was righted in his view and gave her a pleasant, only-for-her smile. _

_Tessa felt her heart start to race in her chest. "Joseph…"_

_Joseph felt her tension and pulled her even closer against him. "Shhh, Tess. It's okay."_

"_But—"_

"_Shhh." Joseph gave her a reassuring squeeze before readjusting and turning her around to face him. "Look at me, Tess. I'm right here. I won't leave you. Not before you're ready."_

_Tears came to Tessa's eyes as she threw herself into Joseph's arms and squeezed him tight against her, content to never let him go. He was warm, pressed up against her, and everywhere he touched, she felt calmer, at peace. "I miss you." A couple of tears fell from Tessa's watery eyes. "I'm so lost without you, Joseph. I _need_ you back."_

_Joseph combed his fingers through her hair lightly as he clutched her against him. "You'll be okay, Tessa. You're strong, a fighter. You always were. You'll make it through."_

"_It's so hard." Tessa buried her face in Joseph's shoulder to muffle her cries. "I miss you so much. I'm alone."_

"_You're not alone." Joseph held her back by her shoulders and gave Tessa a sympathetic look at her tears. He lightly brushed one away with his thumb, ever so gentle with her. "I'm always with you. And you have others too, those who'll fight with you."_

"_No one who loves me." Tessa looked away, ashamed of herself. How could she even allow herself to feel this way with Joseph, after all that she'd done? "I—I don't deserve this, Joseph. Not after…"_

_Joseph looked her up and down. When she still didn't lift her gaze to him, he prodded her chin up with a little finger. "Hey, Tess." Tessa kept her eyes down. "Tessa, look at me."_

_Unable to resist a direct request from him, she did so. Her watery gaze blurred upon his perfect profile. "I love you." Joseph assured her. Tessa broke out into full fledge tears as he gathered her back up in his arms and held her. He gently rocked her until he could feel her calming down again. Without waiting for her to speak once she'd caught her breath, Joseph gently lowered a hand and laid it palm-down against her stomach. Tessa gasped lightly and tried to pull away from him, ashamed, but he held her firmly._

"_When this is all over Tess, I want you to have it." Tessa stiffened perceptibly in his grasp and Joseph let her pull away to stare at his warm features in confusion and fear. "You've always wanted one." He continued on. "Hell, we wanted nine." He chuckled. "Unfortunately, I never got to fulfill that wish for you." He brushed away another tear from her shell-shocked expression. "But you still want one, don't you? A child?"_

_Tessa was frozen in place and tears streamed steadily down her cheeks. "I-I…I didn't want it like this." She finally choked out. "I wanted you—from only you. I lost my way, Joseph. I was so distraught, so angry…I was stupid."_

_Joseph gave her a kind, sadly understanding smile. "I know, Tess. I was sucked into that organization too, remember?" He graced her with one of his rare smiles again. "It's okay, Tessa. I forgive you."_

_Tessa was starting to tear up again. "I don't deserv—"_

"_You deserve the world." Joseph interrupted her. "You deserve to be happy, Tess. Like you were with me. Forget the father, you want a child—I want you happy, Tessa. You don't have to continue to suffer for it. You've punished yourself enough. You don't have to be alone. You can let someone else love you." He glanced down at her stomach again and Tessa only then realized that his hand was still in place. "You can have two of those daughters you always wanted—them and a son."_

_Tessa's eyes clouded in confusion and deep sadness. "Joseph, I—"_

"_You deserve it, Tessa." Joseph told her firmly, but always gentle. "You've suffered enough. It's time to finish it. Finish it off and be left standing afterwards. I know you want to be with me, but it's not that time yet. You've still got a life to live, Tessa. Don't be afraid or ashamed of it. And if you fall for someone else in the meantime, good! I want you happy." He gently stroked her cheek. "You're going to make it through this and I want you to be happy afterwards. I'll wait for you, no matter how long or no matter what you do. I'm yours, Tessa."_

_Tessa squeezed him again. "Don't go, Joseph."_

_Joseph gave her one final hug back. "I love you, Tessa."_

"_I love you too." Tessa didn't bother to give notice to her tears sliding hotly down her cheeks. She just wanted to stay here forever. "I love you so much, Joseph."_

"_Make me proud."_

_The scenery started to fade around her. Tessa closed her eyes tightly and clung to him for all she was worth, desperately trying to keep him rooted there. _

Sounds started to open up around her. "Shit! Betsy, wake up already!"

The vision of her beloved lost, Tessa opened her eyes slowly and was somewhat alarmed to feel wet tear streaks trailing down her cheeks. She turned away from the front and wiped at her eyes with the backs of her hands. In the front, Longshot noticed her movements. "Hey, you! Tessa, right? Do you know the way to the X-mansion? Betsy's out and isn't waking up."

Tessa blinked a few times before shaking her head and trying to focus on reality instead of her wistful dreams. It hurt slightly, especially since she didn't feel the greatest at the moment anyway. "X-Xavier's place?" She asked foggily, still trying to clear her mind.

Longshot nodded. "I _thought_ I knew the way, but…"

Tessa could picture the rout perfectly, even though she hadn't been there in years. At the same time, a few thoughts were roaming through her mind. _I hope Betsy's okay. She's pretty conked out. Petra's waiting for me too—goddamn, I wish I had known the way 2 hours ago!_

"Two hours ago?!" Tessa blanched. "I was out for that long?"

Longshot glanced back at her with scrunched eyebrows. "Are you a telepath too?"

It was then that Tessa realized what had just happened. Her hands automatically reached up to her neck. "My collar!" She breathed, not feeling it there any longer. She glanced around the car frantically as if expecting to find it waiting in ambush. "Did you do this?"

Longshot nodded. "I recognized they were power-negate collars." He explained with a shrug. "Figured you wouldn't want to be wearing that anyway."

Tessa felt a warm rush of gratitude to Betsy's lucky ex. "Pull over to the side of the road." She instructed. There was no need to continue in the car if her powers were back.

"Why?"

"I can teleport us out of here, but I can't take the car with us." Tessa explained, motioning him over. She gripped Betsy's shoulder lightly and shook the girl. "Betsy." Betsy didn't wake. "Wake up, Betsy." Tessa's shaking managed to slouch Betsy over some more, but that was it. Tessa rolled her eyes. "Come on, Betsy. Let's go. Wake-y time!"

"She really just _dies_ on you, doesn't she?" Longshot pulled over and stopped the car before unbuckling himself and turning to Betsy. He prodded her with his finger to no effect. Shaking his head, Longshot sighed. "Just push-push-push until exhaustion! Betsy hasn't changed a bit! Does she still do this in bed with you too?"

Tessa's eyes widened. "What?!"

"She used to do this all the time with me too." Longshot went on. "Don't be embarrassed, it's just how she is."

"Excuse m-" Longshot slapped Betsy. "Hey!" Tessa protested. Betsy was weak, exhausted, and injured from their escape. She didn't need additional beating. "What're you doing?!" She grabbed Longshot's hand as he went to slap her again. "Stop that!"

"How do you propose we wake her?" Tessa had a nasty feeling that Longshot had woke her up this way before.

"Hold on!" Tessa got out of the car and opened Betsy's door.

"You gunna kiss her?" Longshot asked. Tessa gave him a dark look and he held up his hands innocently. "Hey, I'm just asking. I'll look away if you want." Rolling her eyes, Tessa scooped Betsy up under the arms and lifted her out of the car. _Jesus Christ! _She swore silently, grunting with Betsy's weight. _Where's it all from? _Heaving Betsy outside the car, she dragged her back a couple of feet and laid her out on the ground before turning her over to her back. Betsy was like a deadweight.

"Okay, let's go Bets." Tessa shook her a little harsher, but nothing seemed to rouse her.

Longshot came around from the driver's side and grinned down. "What a peaceful sleeper, huh?"

"This isn't normal." Tessa sighed. "No one sleeps _this_ heavily."

"Betsy does."

"How do you usually wake her?"

"I used to slap her, then kiss her." Tessa gave him an annoyed look and Longshot smiled innocently. "What? It's the truth, I swear! She never woke to anything else when she'd fallen into one of these states. I think she puts herself into them. Some kind of telepathic-thing when she gets too tired. Slapping her is painful and sorta wakes her up, while kissing her makes her realize it's not a dream."

"Well, then." Tessa gestured down. "Kiss her."

Longshot held up his hands again. "Not me! I'm taken. My days of Betsy are long-past. Don't worry, I'll look away." Longshot turned around and buried his head in his arms.

Tessa shook her head and rolled her eyes again. She tried one last time to shake Betsy awake. When that didn't work, Tessa picked up Betsy's bleeding hand. "Sorry, Betsy." She softly applied pressure to the cut.

Betsy's eyes shot open and she screeched before quickly pulling her hand back and turning her glare on Tessa. Tessa recoiled as an unexpected pain sliced through her head. She clutched her head in agony. "Betsy!"

The pain lightened up as Betsy's eyes glowed purple. "Hey! It's back!" she fiddled around her neck searchingly. "Our collars are gone!"

Tessa reeled, still clutching her head. "Is that how you greet _everyone_ who wakes you up?! My god!"

Betsy's eyes narrowed. "If you weren't squeezing my _injured_ hand, I wouldn't have attacked you!"

"If you didn't sleep like a hibernating bear, I wouldn't have had to!"

"I do _not_ sleep like a—"

"You were in one of those deep sleeps." Longshot interrupted, turning around to face Betsy. Betsy colored at his words. "I told her the only safe way to wake you was to slap you and then kiss—" Betsy flushed deeper.

"I—we should get going."

Tessa chuckled at Betsy's obvious embarrassment. "You require some kind of method, Betsy?"

Betsy was deeply red. "Shut up, Tess."

"No snappy comeback?" Tessa laughed. "This one really has you spun, doesn't it?"

Longshot smiled too and put a hand on Betsy's shoulder companionably, to which she stiffened at. "Betsy's just ashamed that I was the one to discover how to safely wake her up that wa—"

"Longshot—don't comfort me." Betsy sighed, picking his arm off her shoulder and letting it drop. "Come on." She grabbed Tessa's arm, rather more tightly than absolutely necessary. "Get us back to the mansion, Tess."

Tessa laid a hand on Longshot's shoulder and gripped him tightly. With the crack of a whip, they all disappeared from the spot as if they'd never been there at all.

-----

_**The Xavier Mansion.**__ You need to be there. Now._ Wanda jerked spastically at the voice in her head and frantically looked around for the source. She found nothing. "Hello?" Wanda called out, still looking around desperately.

_Rogue is going to die._

Wanda gripped the side of her bed stiffly. "Who are you?!"

_Go to her. Now._

"Wanda?" Pietro raced into the room and was at her side within seconds. "Wanda, what's wrong? Who're you talking to?"

_I'm about to kill her…_the voice taunted, playing her.

Wanda set her desperate eyes on Pietro. "Pietro, we have to get to the X-Mansion. _Now."_

_-----  
_

**Emma smiled to herself in cold satisfaction. **There was no hint of warmth in that smile as laid back on Shaw's king-sized bed. She surveyed her new room in triumph. The raids were set off to go—were already starting—and Rogue, with Shaw, was about to die. The Mutant Champions were going to soar in their status and mutants, not humans, would rule this land. _Finally._ And behind it all? She would be the one in control. Emma Frost was about to have full rule over an entire continent.

Emma closed her eyes blissfully and basked in her glory. So very, very soon, _nothing_ and _nobody_ would be able to stop her.


End file.
